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Cell References in Excel

By Manisha SharmaManisha Sharma

cell references in excel

Cell References in Excel (Table of Contents)

  • Introduction to Cell References in Excel
  • How to Apply Cell Reference in Excel?

Introduction to Cell References in Excel

All of you would have seen the $ sign in Excel formulas and Functions. The $ sign confuses a lot of people, but it is very easy to understand and use. The $ sign serves only one purpose in the excel formula. It tells excel whether or not to change the cell reference when the excel formula is copied or moved to another cell.

When writing a cell reference for a single cell, we can use any type of cell reference, but when we want to copy the cell to some other cells, it becomes important to use the correct cell references.

What is Cell Reference?

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A cell reference is nothing but the Address of the cell used in the excel formula. In Excel, there are two types of cell references. One is Absolute reference, and the other is Relative reference.

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What is Relative Cell Reference?

The cell reference without a $ sign will change every time it is copied to another cell or moved to another cell, and it is known as Relative cell reference.

What is an Absolute Cell Reference?

The cell references in which there is a $ sign before the Row or Column coordinates are Absolute references. In excel, we can refer to one and the same cell in four different ways, for example, A1, $A$1, $A1, and A$1. We will look at each type with examples in this article.

How to Apply Cell Reference in Excel?

Applying Cell References in Excel is very simple and easy. Let’s understand how to reference cells in Excel with some examples.

When a formula with relative cell reference is copied to another cell, the cell references in the formula changes based on the position of row and columns.

You can download this Cell References Excel Template here – Cell References Excel Template

Example #1 – Excel Relative Cell Reference (without $ sign)

Suppose you have sales details for the month of January, as given in the below screenshot.

cell references example 1-1

There is Quantity sold in column C and Rate per KG in Column D. So to arrive at the Total Amount, you will insert the formula in Cell E2 = C2*D2.

cell references example 1-2

After inserting the formula in E2, press the Enter key.

cell references example 1-3

You will need to copy this formula in another row with the same column, say, E2; it will automatically change the cell reference from A1 to A2 because Excel assumes that you are multiplying the value in column C with the value in Column D.

cell refrence excel 1

Now drag the same formula in cell E2 to E17.

cell references in excel 1

So as you can see, when using the relative cell reference, you can move the formula in a cell to another cell, and the cell reference will change automatically.

Example #2 – Excel Relative Cell Reference (Without $ Sign)

We already know that the absolute cell reference is a cell address with a $ sign in a row or column coordinates. The $ sign locks the cell so that when you copy the formula to another cell, the cell reference doesn’t change. So using $ in cell reference allows you to copy the formula without changing cell reference.

Suppose in the above example, the Rate per KG is given only in one cell, as shown in the below screenshot. Thus, the Rate per KG is given only in one cell instead of providing in each line.

cell references example 1-4

So when we insert the formula in cell D2, we need to make sure that we lock the cell H2, which is the Rate Per KG for Apple. So the formula to enter in cell D2 =$G$2*C2.

cell references example 2-1

After applying the above formula, the output is as shown below.

cell excel 2

Now when you copy the formula to the next row, say cell D3. The cell reference for G2 will not change as we locked the cell reference with a $ sign. However, the cell reference for C2 will change to C3 as we have not locked the cell reference for Column C.

cell refrence

So now you can copy the formula to the below rows till the end of the data.

cell references in excel 2

As you can see, when you lock the cell in cell reference in a formula, no matter where you copy or move the formula in excel, the cell reference in the formula remains the same. In the above formula, we saw the case where we lock an entire cell H2. Now there can be two more scenarios where we can use absolute reference in a better way.

  1. Lock the row – Refer to Example 3 below
  2. Lock the column – Refer to Example 4 below

As we already know in the cell reference, the columns are represented by words, and rows are represented by numbers. In the absolute cell reference, we have the option either to lock the row or column.

Example #3 – Copying the Formula

We will take a similar example of Example 2.

row reference 1

After applying the above formula, the output is shown below.

cell excel 1

In this case, we are only locking row 2, so when you copy the formula to the below row, the row reference will not change as well as column reference will not change.

row reference 2

But when you copy the formula to the right, the column reference of H will change to I keeping row 2 as locked.

row reference 3

After applying the above formula, the output is shown as below.

row reference 4

Example #4 – Locking the Column

We will take a similar example of Example 2, but now we have the rate per KG for an apple in each line of Column G.

row reference 5

After applying the above formula, the output is shown below.

row reference 6

In this case, we are only locking column H, so when you copy the formula to the below row, the row reference will change, but the column reference will not change.

row reference 7

But when you copy the formula to the right, the column reference of H will not change, and the row reference of 2 will also not change, but the reference of C2 will change to D2 because it is not locked at all.

row reference 8

After applying the above formula, the output is shown below.

row reference 9

Things to Remember About Cell Reference in Excel

  • The key which helps in inserting a $ sign in the formula is F4. When you press F4 once, it locks the entire cell; when you press twice, it locks the row only, and when you press F4 thrice, it locks the column only.
  • There is one more reference style in excel, which refers to a cell as R1C1, where numbers identify both rows and columns.
  • Don’t use too many row/column references in the excel worksheet, as it may slow down your computer.
  • We can also use a mix of Absolute and Relative cell references in one formula depending on the situation.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to Cell Reference in Excel. Here we discuss how to use Cell Reference in Excel along with practical examples and a downloadable excel template. You can also go through our other suggested articles –

  1. Count Cells with Text in Excel
  2. 3D Cell Reference in Excel
  3. Excel Cell Reference
  4. New Line in Excel Cell
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