Relative, Absolute Mixed References in Excel
Relative , Absolute and Mixed Cell References
There are three types of cell references: relative, absolute
and Mixed. All three behave differently when copied and filled to other
cells. Relative references change when a formula is copied to
another cell. Absolute references, on the other hand, remain constant,
no matter where they are copied and in mixed referencing either row or column
changes.
Relative references
All cell references are relative
references by default. When copied across multiple cells, they change based
on the relative position of rows and columns. For example, if you copy the
formula =A1+B1 from row 1 to row 2, the formula will become =A2+B2. Relative
references are especially convenient whenever you need to repeat the
same calculation across multiple rows or columns.
To create and copy a formula using relative references:
In the following example, we want to create
a formula that will multiply each item's price by the quantity.
Instead of creating a new formula for each row, we can create a single formula
in cell D2 and then copy it to the other rows. We'll use
relative references so the formula correctly calculates the total for each
item.
1.
Select the cell that will
contain the formula. In our example, we'll select cell G3.
2.
Enter the formula to
calculate the desired value. In our example, we'll type =Sum(D2:F2).
3.
Press Enter on your
keyboard. The formula will be calculated, and the result will be
displayed in the cell.
4.
Locate the fill handle in
the bottom-right corner of the desired cell. In our example, we'll locate the
fill handle for cell G3.
5.
Click, hold, and drag the fill
handle over the cells you want to fill. In our example, we'll select
cells G3:G6.
6.
Release the mouse. The formula will
be copied to the selected cells with relative references,
and the values will be calculated in each cell.
You can double-click the filled
cells to check their formulas for accuracy. The relative cell
references should be different for each cell, depending on their rows.
Absolute references
There may be times when you do not want a
cell reference to change when filling cells. Unlike relative references, absolute
references do not change when copied or filled. You can use an
absolute reference to keep a row and/or column constant.
An absolute reference is designated in a
formula by the addition of a dollar sign ($). It can precede the
column reference, the row reference, or both. Use F4 to toggle the position
of $ Sign.
Go to Formula Bar and place the cursor just before one
cell reference and press the F4 key once .$ sign precedes both row and column
address. It Absolute referencing/refrences.
Mixed references
In this references either row reference or column
reference is kept fixed by putting $ sign before it. It can be done by placing
the cursor just before the cell reference and pressing the F4 key two times to
fix a row and three times to fix column. Pressing F4 once again will make it
relative.
When writing a formula, you can press
the F4 key on your keyboard to switch between relative, mixed and
absolute cell references. This is an easy way to
quickly insert an absolute reference.
To create and copy a formula using absolute references:
In our example, we'll use the 7.5% sales
tax rate in cell E1 to calculate the sales tax for all items
in column D. We'll need to use the absolute cell reference $E$1 in
our formula. Because each formula is using the same tax rate, we want that
reference to remain constant when the formula is copied and filled to other
cells in column D.
1.
Select the cell that will
contain the formula. In our example, we'll select cell D3.
2.
Enter the formula to
calculate the desired value. In our example, we'll type =(B3*C3)*$E$1.
3.
Press Enter on your
keyboard. The formula will calculate, and the result will display in the cell.
4.
Locate the fill handle in
the bottom-right corner of the desired cell. In our example, we'll locate the
fill handle for cell D3.
5.
Click, hold, and drag the fill
handle over the cells you want to fill: cells D4:D13 in
our example.
6.
Release the mouse. The formula will
be copied to the selected cells with an absolute reference,
and the values will be calculated in each cell.
You can double-click the filled
cells to check their formulas for accuracy. The absolute reference
should be the same for each cell, while the other references are relative to
the cell's row.
Be sure to include the dollar sign ($) whenever
you're making an absolute reference across multiple cells. The dollar signs
were omitted in the example below. This caused Excel to interpret it as a
relative reference, producing an incorrect result when copied to other cells.
Using cell references
with multiple worksheets
Excel allows you to refer to any cell on
any worksheet, which can be especially helpful if you want to
reference a specific value from one worksheet to another. To do this, you'll
simply need to begin the cell reference with the worksheet name followed
by an exclamation point (!). For example,
if you wanted to reference cell A1 on Sheet1, its
cell reference would be Sheet1!A1.
Note that if a worksheet name contains
a space, you will need to include single quotation marks (' ')
around the name. For example, if you wanted to reference cell A1 on
a worksheet named July Budget, its cell reference would be 'July
Budget'!A1.
To reference cells across worksheets:
In our example below, we'll refer to a cell
with a calculated value between two worksheets. This will allow us to use the exact
same value on two different worksheets without rewriting the formula
or copying data between worksheets.
1.
Locate the cell you want to reference, and
note its worksheet. In our example, we want to reference cell E14 on
the Menu Order worksheet.
2. Navigate to the desired worksheet.
In our example, we'll select the Catering Invoice worksheet.
3.
The selected worksheet will
appear.
4.
Locate and select the cell where
you want the value to appear. In our example, we'll select cell B2.
5.
Type the equals sign (=),
the sheet name followed by an exclamation
point (!), and the cell address. In our example,
we'll type ='Menu Order'!E14.
6.
Press Enter on your
keyboard. The value of the referenced cell will appear. If
the value of cell E14 changes on the Menu Order worksheet, it
will be updated automatically on the Catering Invoice
worksheet.
If you rename your
worksheet at a later point, the cell reference will be updated automatically to
reflect the new worksheet name.
If you enter a worksheet name incorrectly,
the #REF! error will appear in the cell. In our example below,
we've mistyped the name of the worksheet. Click the Error buttonand
select the desired option from the drop-down menu to edit or ignore the
error.
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