Fixing cell addresses

When copying formulas Excel automatically updates the address of cells that it contains. This is a very useful feature, since it allows us to create a formula once and then only copy it into the cells where it is applied, similar to the initial cell. However, sometimes there is a need for one or more address-operands to change. In this case, we use techniques for fixing addresses in a cell.

Fixing is done by inserting the dollar sign ($) in front of the row or column name for which we want to keep the same value when copying. For example, if we want a formula to always multiply the cell A1 content with another cell, the cell address A1 will be changed to $A$1.

Often it happens that we want to have only the row or column just fixed in the address. In this case, we put a corresponding dollar sign just ahead of the line or just in front of the column. The easiest way to understand this technique is to: If the cells in which the data are located are in rows then it is necessary to fix the row number, and if they are in columns it is necessary to fix the column name in the formula.

There is also a simpler way to fix rows or columns. When entering the formula, the address should be selected, and then the number of times, depending on what we want to fix, press the F4 key. This procedure will first fix both the row and the column, and the address, then the line only, and only the column, and in the end will remove the fixation of rows and columns.