Spreadsheets are currently one of the most used tools to organize elements and of course perform calculations. Before the first software of this type appeared, they were generally filled in by hand. They had.
But unlike the old ones, the digital ones present more utilities and the result is reached in a practical way.
One of them is the possibility of. It is also one of the bases for the creation of a basic document Microsoft Excel. We invite you to visit the following post to learn more about it.
What is a cell reference in Microsoft Excel and what is it for in a spreadsheet?
It is a function that It is available from the first versions of the program Microsoft Excel. It marked an important difference against its competitors. The best way to understand how it works is through a simple analogy. Imagine that you are in front of a paper template and that you must place in a box the result of the sum of two others.
Instead of writing the result, you join with a thread the pictures related in said operation. Also think that you can do the same with the result box and others on the same sheet, even with another page. In the program, it is an efficient way of indicating that the value or the result of one or more cells are reflected in another.
Learn step by step how to use cell references in Excel
As we mentioned before, managing this utility within Excel is essential to later start using more powerful features. It is a very simple operation, although it has variants depending on the result you want to achieve.
Let’s see the main ones:
From one cell to another
This is the simplest. To do this you must write match the letter and the number that refer to the one whose information you are interested in preceded by the equal sign.
For example.
- On a blank piece of paper, write the value “=23” in cell “C2”.
- Next, write in any other, (it can be the “A1”) the function “=C2”.
- Thus the result of the first cell we referenced will be reflected in the second.
Another way by which we will reach the same result, but this time using the keyboard and mouse combination is as follows:
- Write any number in the cells what you wish. For example, the ones you will see in the image.
- Then in the cell that will referencewrite the sign “=”.
- Click on the cell to which you will refer and press “Enter” to end. You can add to this procedure operations with other cells or values.
Range
A second possibility offered by this tool is refer to a group of contiguous cells. which are called “Range”.
Follow these steps to achieve this:
- If you go to perform the sum of the values included in said rangewrite to an empty cell “=SUM(“.
- Then select, dragging left click on the cells to add.
- Close the operation by writing the missing sign “)” and press “Enter”.
another sheet
It’s even allowed refer to a cell or range which is outside the current sheet, but inside the same book (document).
This is very useful when we are working with large documents and within which there are separate pages:
- Supposing that your document already has several sheetswith values expressed in different cells, writes in the cell that will be referenced “=”.
- Next, select the cell to refer to, regardless of location or sheet.
- press “Enter” to end.
We recommend this method over manual entry, since the sheet could vary in name. However, if you wish to do so, the function is “=Sheet3!A1” Being the sheet, the number “3” and the cell within it “A1”. If it is renamed it would remain “=’Second Sheet’!A1”. Being “Second Sheet” the renowned and “A1” the location of the cell.
Facebook Comments
Disqus