Excel cell reference: how to make and use

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.

When used in a formula, cell references help Excel find the values the formula should calculate.
For instance, to pull the value of A1 to another cell, you use this simple formula:
=A1
To add up the values in cells A1 and A2, you use this one:
=A1+A2

What is a range reference in Excel?

In Microsoft Excel, a range is a block of two or more cells. A range reference is represented by the
address of the upper left cell and the lower right cell separated with a colon.
For example, the range A1:C2 includes 6 cells from A1 through C2.

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.
The below screenshot illustrates both the 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.

How to create a reference in Excel

To make a cell reference on the same sheet, this is what you need to do:
1. Click the cell in which you want to enter the formula.
2. Type the equal sign (=).
3. Do one of the following:
• Type the reference directly in the cell or in the formula bar, or
• Click the cell you want to refer to.
4. Type the rest of the formula and press the Enter key to complete it.
For example, to add up the values in cells A1 and A2, you type the equal sign, click A1, type the plus
sign, click A2 and press Enter:

To create a range reference, select a range of cells on the worksheet.

For example, to add up the values in cells A1, A2 and A3, type the equal sign followed by the name of
the SUM function and the opening parenthesis, select the cells from A1 through A3, type the closing
parenthesis, and press Enter:

To refer to the whole row or entire column, click the row number or the column letter, respectively.
For instance, to add up all the cells in row 1, start typing the SUM function, and then click the header
of the first row to include the row reference in your formula:

Tip. To get various information about a cell, use the CELL function.

How to change Excel cell reference in a formula

To change a cell address in an existing formula, carry out these steps:
1. Click on the cell that contains the formula and press F2 to enter the Edit mode, or double-click
the cell. This will highlight each cell/range referenced by the formula with a different color.
2. To change a cell address, do any of the following:
• Select the reference in the formula and type a new one.
• Select the reference in the formula, and then select another cell or range on the sheet.
 • To include more or fewer cells in a reference, drag the color-coded border of the cell or
range.

3. Press the Enter key.

How to cross reference in Excel

To refer to cells in another worksheet or a different Excel file, you must identify not only the target
cell(s), but also the sheet and workbook where the cells are located. This can be done by using so-
called external cell reference.

How to reference another sheet in Excel

To refer to a cell or a range of cells in another worksheet, type the name of the target worksheet
followed by an exclamation point (!) before the cell or range address.
For example, here's how you can refer to cell A1 on Sheet2 in the same workbook:
=Sheet2!A1
If the name of the worksheet contains spaces or nonalphabetical characters, you must enclose the name
within single quotation marks, e.g.:
='Target sheet'!A1
To prevent possible typos and mistakes, you can get Excel to create an external reference for you
automatically. Here's how:
1. Start typing a formula in a cell.
2. Click the sheet tab you want to cross-reference and select the cell or range of cells.
3. Finish typing your formula and press Enter.
For more information, please see How to reference cell in another worksheet in Excel.

How to reference another workbook in Excel

To refer to a cell or range of cells in a different Excel file, you need to include the workbook name in
square brackets, followed by the sheet name, exclamation point, and the cell or a range address. For
example:
=[Book1.xlsx]Sheet1!A1
If the file or sheet name contains non-alphabetical characters, be sure to enclose the path in single
quotation marks, e.g.
='[Target file.xlsx]Sheet1'!A1
As with a reference to another sheet, you don't have to type the path manually. A faster way is to switch
to the other workbook and select a cell or a range of cells there.
For the detailed guidance, please see How to reference cell in another workbook.

Relative, absolute and mixed cell references

There are three types of cell references in Excel: relative, absolute and mixed. 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

For more information, please see Relative reference in Excel.

Absolute cell reference in Excel

An absolute reference is the one with the dollar sign ($) in the row or column coordinates, like $A$1
or $A$1:$B$10.
An absolute cell reference remains unchanged when filling other cells with the same formula. Absolute
addresses are especially useful when you want to perform multiple calculations with a value in a
specific cell or when you need to copy a formula to other cells without changing references.
For example, to multiply the numbers in column A by the number in B2, you input the following
formula in row 2, and then copy the formula down the column by dragging the fill handle:
=A2*$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:

More details can be found in Absolute reference in Excel.

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:

For real-life formula examples, please check out Mixed cell references in Excel.

How to switch between different reference types

To switch from a relative reference to absolute and vice versa, you can either type or delete the $ sign
manually, or use the F4 shortcut:
1. Double-click the cell that contains the formula.
2. Select the reference you want to change.
3. Press F4 to toggle between the four reference types.
Repeatedly hitting the F4 key switches the references in this order: A1 > $A$1 > A$1 > $A1.

Circular reference in Excel

In simple terms, a circular reference is the one that refers back to its own cell, directly or indirectly.
For example, if you put the below formula in cell A1, this would create a circular reference:
=A1+100
In most situations, circular references are a source of trouble and you should avoid using them
whenever possible. In some rare case, however, they could be the only possible solution for a specific
task.