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What Is A Cell Reference in Excel

Cell references in Excel identify the location of a cell on a worksheet. A1 reference style uses column letters and row numbers (e.g. A1). R1C1 style uses numbers for both rows and columns (e.g. R1C1). There are three types of cell references - relative, absolute, and mixed. Relative references (e.g. A1) change when copied, absolute references (e.g. $A$1) remain fixed, and mixed references (e.g. $A1) fix either the row or column when copied.

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1K views

What Is A Cell Reference in Excel

Cell references in Excel identify the location of a cell on a worksheet. A1 reference style uses column letters and row numbers (e.g. A1). R1C1 style uses numbers for both rows and columns (e.g. R1C1). There are three types of cell references - relative, absolute, and mixed. Relative references (e.g. A1) change when copied, absolute references (e.g. $A$1) remain fixed, and mixed references (e.g. $A1) fix either the row or column when copied.

Uploaded by

vsnpradeep
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is a cell reference in

Excel?
A cell reference or cell address is a combination of a
column letter and a row number that identifies a cell on
a worksheet.

For example, A1 refers to the cell at the intersection of


column A and row 1; B2 refers to the second cell in
column B, and so on.
Excel reference styles
There exist two address styles in Excel: A1 and R1C1.

A1 reference style in Excel


A1 is the default style used most of the time. In this
style, columns are defined by letters and rows by
numbers, i.e. A1 designates a cell in column A, row 1.

R1C1 reference style in Excel


R1C1 is the style where both rows and columns are
identified by numbers, i.e. R1C1 designates a cell in
row 1, column 1.
A1 and R1C1 reference styles:
To switch from the default A1 style to R1C1, click File > Options > Formulas,
and then uncheck the R1C1 reference style box.

Relative, absolute and mixed cell references


There are three types of cell references in Excel:

1) Relative reference,
2) Absolute and
3) Mixed reference

When writing a formula for a single cell, you can go with any type.

But if you intend to copy your formula to other cells, it is important


that you use an appropriate address type because relative and
absolute cell references behave differently when filled to other cells.
Relative cell reference in Excel

A relative reference is the one without the $ sign in the row and
column coordinates, like A1 or A1:B10. By default, all cell
addresses in Excel are relative.

When moved or copied across multiple cells, relative references


change based on the relative position of rows and columns. So, if
you want to repeat the same calculation across several columns or
rows, you need to use relative cell references.

For example, to multiply numbers in column A by 5, you enter this


formula in B2: =A2*5. When copied from row 2 to row 3, the
formula will change to =A3*5.

Absolute cell reference in Excel


An absolute reference is the one with the dollar sign
($) in both the row and column coordinates, like $A$1
or $A$1:$B$10.

An absolute cell reference remains unchanged when


filling other cells with the same formula.

Absolute addresses are especially useful when you want


to perform multiple calculations with a value in a
specific cell or when you need to copy a formula to
other cells without changing references.
For example, to multiply the numbers in column A by
the number in B2, you input the following formula in
row 2, =A2*$B$2

The relative reference (A2) will change based on a


relative position of a row where the formula is copied,
while the absolute reference ($B$2) will always be
locked on the same cell:

The relative reference (A2) will change based on a


relative position of a row where the formula is copied,
while the absolute reference ($B$2) will always be
locked on the same cell:

Mixed cell reference


A mixed reference contains one relative and one
absolute coordinate, like $A1 or A$1.

There may be many situations when only one


coordinate, column or row, should be fixed.
For example, to multiply a column of numbers (column
A) by 3 different numbers (B2, C2 and D2), you put the
following formula in B3, and then copy it down and to
the right.
=$A3*B$2

In $A3, you lock the column coordinate because the


formula should always multiply the original numbers in
column A. The row coordinate is relative since it needs
to change for other rows.

In B$2, you lock the row coordinate to tell Excel always


to pick the multiplier in row 2. The column coordinate
is relative because the multipliers are in 3 different
columns and the formula should adjust accordingly.

As the result, all the calculations are performed with a


single formula, which changes properly for each row
and column where it is copied:

Excel mixed cell reference


A mixed cell reference in Excel is a reference where
either the column letter or a row number is fixed. For
example, $A1 and A$1 are mixed references. But what
does each mean? It's very simple.

As you remember, an Excel absolute reference contains


2 dollar signs ($) that lock both the column and the
row. In a mixed cell reference, only one coordinate is
fixed (absolute) and the other (relative) will change
based on a relative position of the row or column:

 Absolute column and relative row, like $A1. When a


formula with this reference type is copied to other cells,
the $ sign in front of the column letter locks the
reference to the specified column so that it never
changes. The relative row reference, without the dollar
sign, varies depending on the row to which the formula
is copied.
 Relative column and absolute row, like A$1. In this
reference type, it's the row's reference that won't
change, and the column's reference will.

Below you will find an example of using both mixed cell


reference types that will hopefully make things easier to
understand.

Using a mixed reference in Excel -


formula example
For this example, we will be using our currency
conversion table again. But this time, we won't limit
ourselves only to the USD - EUR conversion. What we
are going to do is to convert the dollar prices to a
number of other currencies, all with a single formula!
To begin with, let's enter the conversion rates in some
row, say row 2, as shown in the screenshot below. And
then, you write just one formula for the top-left cell (C5
in this example) to calculate the EUR price:
=$B5*C$2

Where $B5 is the dollar price in the same row, and C$2
is the USD - EUR conversion rate.

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