Relative and absolute addressing

Cell ReferencingCell referencing is the method by which

you refer to a cell or series of cells in a formula

Cell referencing is not important unless you plan to copy the formula to a number of other cells

Excel accepts cell references in what are called absolute and relative addressing

Absolute AddressingAbsolute addressing have a $ character

before the column portion of the reference and/or the row portion of the reference

The $ character indicates to Excel that it should not increment the column and/or row reference as you fill a range with a formula or as you copy a range

For example, $A$1 is an absolute addressing

Relative AddressingRelative addressing do not use

the $ character

It will change when formula with the reference is copied to another cell

For example, A1 is a relative addressing

Conti…Benefit:

◦You can write formula once, copy it to as many other cells as you like, and have excel update the formulas to reflect their new cells

ExampleIf you enter =A1 in a cell and

then fill that cell down a column, the '1' in the reference will increment in each row.

Thus, the formula in row 50 would be =A50. However, if you enter =$A$1 in a cell and fill down, the range reference will remain $A$1 -- it will not increment as you fill or copy down a column.

Conti…Cell Reference Types

Reference Type Formula What Happens After

Copying the Formula

Relative =A1 Both the column letter A and

the row number 1 can

change.

Absolute =$A$1 The column letter A and the

row number 1 do not change.

Mixed =$A1 The column letter A does not

change. The row number 1

can change.

Mixed =A$1 The column letter A can

change. The row number 1

does not change.