microsoft excel courses in - Absolute reference

Hi David,

An absolute reference is when a formula of any kind refers to an external (to itself) cell, and it ALWAYS refers to that EXACT cell no matter what.

Sometimes when you copy a cell, the reference will change. This is know as RELETIVE REFERENCING. ABSOLUTE referencing is the reverse of that.

Here are some examples:

$A$1
Both the column and row reference is fixed. Neither will be incrementd or changed during a copy or fill.

$A1
Only the column reference is fixed. It will not change during a fill or copy, but the row will change.

A$1
Only the row reference is fixed. It will not change during a fill or copy, but the column will change.

Regards

Richard