Microsoft Excel X for Mac OS X: Visual QuickStart Guide

Relative vs. Absolute Cell References

There are two primary types of cell references:

• A relative cell reference is the address of a cell relative to the cell the reference is in. For example, a reference to cell B1 in cell B3, tells Excel to look at the cell two cells above B3. Most of the references you use in Excel are relative references.

• An absolute cell reference is the exact location of a cell. To indicate an absolute reference, enter a dollar sign ($) in front of the column letter(s) and row number of the reference. An absolute reference to cell B1, for example, would be written $B$1.

As Figures 46 and 47 illustrate, relative cell references change when you copy them to other cells. Although in many cases, you might want the references ...