I have a table "A" with 2 columns "Foo" and "Bar". I have a formula with the structured reference A[Foo]. When I fill this formula horizontally I want the reference to stay A[Foo] but now, in the second column, the reference turns to A[Bar]. Is there a way to make this structured reference absolute?
It'd be shocking that this isn't supported if not.
Example Formula:
=A[Foo]
Drag that horizontally and Foo changes if the table has multiple columns
You can make the reference absolute by duplicating the reference to column as if it were a range. Looks like the following:
A[[Foo]:[Foo]]
Put A[[Foo]:[Foo]] in your formula and drag across. The reference will remain on the [Foo] column. Note, you have to drag the formula. Copy/paste won't work.
This also works if you want an absolute reference on a cell in the same row of the same table. Assuming the formula is in the Table named "A", the following will anchor the cell in the same row of the formula.
A[#[Foo]:[Foo]]
There is an article and video on my site about this issue where I attempt to explain it clearly. :)
http://www.excelcampus.com/tips/absolute-formula-references-excel-structured-table/
there is a difference between copying and dragging. Dragging is also called "filling" formulas. On Microsoft's support website you will find the following explanation:
Moving, copying, and filling
structured references
All structured references remain the
same when you copy or move a formula
that uses a structured reference.
When you fill a formula, fully
qualified structured references can
adjust the column specifiers like a
series as summarized in the following
table.
So it basically means that the behavior you see is by design. If you want the reference to be absolute you should copy the formula and not drag/"fill" it.
I couldn't make the Control+drag idea work either. However, by selecting the original cell and the ones to be filled and using the Control+R, fill right, shortcut did seem to copy without changing the structured references across columns.
It appears you cannot make a structured reference (.ie - A[Foo]) absolute. If you want to use absolute references in your formula, so you can use the fill handle, use the old method of absolute reference ($A$2 or $A2)
Example:
Table Name: DiscountPricing
A B C D
1 Item Base Price 5% 10%
2 Pencil $0.50 =[Base Price]-([Base Price]* =[5%]-([5%]*
DiscountPricing[[#Headers],[5%]]) *DiscountPricing[[#Headers],[10%]])
3 Pen $1 =$B3-($B3* =$B3-($B3*
*DiscountPricing[[#Headers],[5%]]) *DiscountPricing[[#Headers],[10%]])
See for additional info:
http://www.technicalcommunicationcenter.com/2011/05/31/how-to-use-structured-references-in-ms-excel/
Try inserting the Table name with an INDIRECT function like;
INDIRECT("Table Name[Column Heading]")
In your Case, INDIRECT("A[Foo]")
Now you can drag it horizontally and the column reference stays static !!
It seems that if you hold down Ctrl while copying the formulas, it will remain static/absolute.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA101556861033.aspx
sounds like your still dragging/filling, aim for the bottom of the cell, not the corner.
Ross
Related
I am trying to reference a column in an external Excel document in my formula, and then expanding said formula to the right to auto-fill the remaining cells. I have some values in the formula that I want to not auto-increment, which have been locked using absolute references ($), and others that should increment. But when it comes to the references to the external worksheet columns, those increment even though it makes no sense for them to do so.
Consider this formula as an example, with A1 through A* being a series of dates:
=COUNTIFS(external_sheet[date]; ">="&A1; external_sheet[status]; "ACTIVE";)
If I were to expand this formula to the right, it will increment [date] and [status] to the next column in the sheet. I do not want this behavior, but as far as I can tell there is no way to lock down these values as you can with absolute references. I tried adding a $ symbol before the external sheet reference, but that just breaks the formula.
An option would be to do external_worksheet!$A:$A instead, but for my use case it would make more sense to use references to named columns, as the order of columns may change between data files.
Figured it out after some more Googling (and learning that this is called a "structured reference"). Apparently, the syntax is this:
=COUNTIFS(external_sheet[[date]:[date]]; ">="&A1)
This will make sure that date does not increment to the next column name when filling to the right.
Thanks, I hate it.
With the special character '$' I can prevent an Excel formula from changing its reference when the cell itself is copied (e.g '$A$1').
But is there also a special character that prevents an Excel formula from changing its reference when the referenced cell is moved?
Here's an example:
I have:
Now I move the cells 'A1:A3' down one row. So the formulas in the cells 'C1:C3' change:
But I don't want that the formulas in the cells 'C1:C3' change. They should remain unchanged:
Try formula:
=IF(INDEX(A:A,ROW(1:1))=INDEX(B:B,ROW(1:1)),"Same","Not same")
the formula always work, regardless of any column been delete besides columns A or B
If you always want to refer to A1, then you can't just use A1 as a reference, because, as you have seen, Excel will adjust that reference if rows are inserted above.
Instead, use Index(A:A,1) . That will always return the value from the first row of column A.
=if(index(A:A,1)=index(B:B,1),"same","not")
Edit after comment: If this does not suit your purpose, maybe you need to redesign your spreadsheet so that the position of things does not change all the time. This looks like you are adding new data at the top of a list.
Excel works from top to bottom and things will be a lot easier if new data is added at the bottom of a list. You can always use other Excel tools to change the sort order if you want to have the data sorted in reverse chronological order.
Use formula in C1:
=IF(INDEX(A:A,ROW(ZZ1))=INDEX(B:B,ROW(ZZ1)),"Same","Not same")
and copy down.
I'm trying to calculate a value called, "additional throughput". It is calculated by subtracting the base case module's throughput from a new module's throughput.
In the sheet below you can see that for the third row down (has a blue box in it), that the additional throughput is calculated by the formula "=T6-T4".
The problem is that when I click on this box and drag it down to apply the same formula to the other rows, I want the formula to become "=T7-T4" for the next row. Instead it becomes "=T7-T5". I tried to select multiple cells (where the formula was manually entered) before dragging down so it could recognize that the T4 doesn't change, only the first part. However, that didn't work.
In Excel you can use $ signs before the column or row references to make those references "absolute" (rather than "relative"). For example if you use =A$1 then the 1 doesn't change when you copy down. If you use =$A1 then the A doesn't change when you copy across. If you use =$A$1 then neither changes whichever way you go.
So for your case you need to use
=T6-T$4
when you copy that down T$4 doesn't change
You have to make the cell address of T4absolute by pressing F4, so it becomes $T$4. When you then copy the formular to other places T4 will keep its absolute address.
I figured it out.
You put a $ symbol in front of the row and column you want to not change. This is referred to as an absolute reference.
Found out how to do it here:
How do I change an Excel relative cell to an absolute cell?
I want to change a variable in an excel formula horizontally and maintain one variable constant.
O3/$C18, P3/$C18, Q3/$C18
I can keep the the bottom variable constant by using the $ symbol but when I want to extend the formula to additional cells, the top variable does not change horizontally, rather vertically.
Thank you for your help. Cheers
The dollar signs in excel "fix" the item to their right
$C18
means C will always be fixed, and 18 can change
C$18 means C can change, but 18 is always fixed.
$C$18 means C is fixed and 18 is fixed (ie always use C18 no matter what direction you drag the cell)
I dont fully understand what you want to do but hopefully the above will help
based on the comments below i think i understand what you mean
try a formula like this
=INDIRECT(ADDRESS(1,ROW()))/$C$18
here address takes the row and column, so row = 1 and column = which ever row you are on (so row1 = A, row2=B etc)
then indirect lets you use that as a reference point
Hope that works
If I understand you correctly, you want to copy your formula vertically, but have the columns update as if you were copying horizontally. For example, you want to copy =O3 to the cell below it as =P3.
For the top, consider the Offset() and Row() functions. Let's say that Cells A1,B1,C1 are 1,2, and 3. Try =OFFSET($A$1,0,ROW()-1). If you copy that formula vertically, the result will be 1, then 2, then 3.
So in your case, try =OFFSET($O$3,0,ROW()-1). It probably needs a little adjustment.
Here's another way to do this:
Start with the formula in this form:
=O$3/$P$18
Copy and paste it across so that you get:
=O$3/$P$18 =P$3/$P$18 =Q$3/$P$18
Copy the two formulas you pasted and select the cell below the first formula.
Then do a Paste Special / Transpose, which can be accessed by right-clicking the selected cell (that is, the one below the first formula that you entered) and then choosing the button that shows a little two-cell range flat and then upright.
Finish up by deleting the formulas in the cells you just copied from.
How do I obtain a reference to the current cell?
For example, if I want to display the width of column A, I could use the following:
=CELL("width", A2)
However, I want the formula to be something like this:
=CELL("width", THIS_CELL)
Several years too late:
Just for completeness I want to give yet another answer:
First, go to Excel-Options -> Formulas and enable R1C1 references. Then use
=CELL("width", RC)
RC always refers the current Row, current Column, i.e. "this cell".
Rick Teachey's solution is basically a tweak to make the same possible in A1 reference style (see also GSerg's comment to Joey's answer and note his comment to Patrick McDonald's answer).
Cheers
:-)
Create a named formula called THIS_CELL
In the current worksheet, select cell A1 (this is important!)
Open Name Manager (Ctl+F3)
Click New...
Enter "THIS_CELL" (or just "THIS", which is my preference) into Name:
Enter the following formula into Refers to:
=!A1
NOTE: Be sure cell A1 is selected. This formula is relative to the ActiveCell.
Under Scope: select Workbook.
Click OK and close the Name Manager
Use the formula in the worksheet exactly as you wanted
=CELL("width",THIS_CELL)
EDIT: Better solution than using INDIRECT()
It's worth noting that the solution I've given should be preferred over any solution using the INDIRECT() function for two reasons:
It is nonvolatile, while INDIRECT() is a volatile Excel function, and as a result will dramatically slow down workbook calculation when it is used a lot.
It is much simpler, and does not require converting an address (in the form of ROW() COLUMN()) to a range reference to an address and back to a range reference again.
EDIT: Also see this question for more information on workbook-scoped, sheet dependent named ranges.
EDIT: Also see #imix's answer below for a variation on this idea (using RC style references). In that case, you could use =!RC for the THIS_CELL named range formula, or just use RC directly.
You could use
=CELL("width", INDIRECT(ADDRESS(ROW(), COLUMN())))
=ADDRESS(ROW(),COLUMN(),4) will give us the relative address of the current cell.
=INDIRECT(ADDRESS(ROW(),COLUMN()-1,4)) will give us the contents of the cell left of the current cell
=INDIRECT(ADDRESS(ROW()-1,COLUMN(),4)) will give us the contents of the cell above the current cell (great for calculating running totals)
Using CELL() function returns information about the last cell that was changed. So, if we enter a new row or column the CELL() reference will be affected and will not be the current cell's any longer.
A2 is already a relative reference and will change when you move the cell or copy the formula.
=ADDRESS(ROW(),COLUMN())
=ADDRESS(ROW(),COLUMN(),1)
=ADDRESS(ROW(),COLUMN(),2)
=ADDRESS(ROW(),COLUMN(),3)
=ADDRESS(ROW(),COLUMN(),4)
Without INDIRECT(): =CELL("width", OFFSET($A$1,ROW()-1,COLUMN()-1) )
I found the best way to handle this (for me) is to use the following:
Dim MyString as String
MyString = Application.ThisCell.Address
Range(MyString).Select
Hope this helps.
Inside tables you can use [#] which (unfortunately) Excel automatically expands to Table1[#] but it does work. (I'm using Excel 2010)
For example when having two columns [Change] and [Balance], putting this in the [Balance] column:
=OFFSET([#], -1, 0) + [Change]
Note of course that this depends on the order of the rows (just like most any other solution), so it's a bit fragile.
There is a better way that is safer and will not slow down your application. How Excel is set up, a cell can have either a value or a formula; the formula can not refer to its own cell. You end up with an infinite loop, since the new value would cause another calculation... . Use a helper column to calculate the value based on what you put in the other cell. For Example:
Column A is a True or False, Column B contains a monetary value, Column C contains the folowing formula:
=B1
Now, to calculate that column B will be highlighted yellow in a conditional format only if Column A is True and Column B is greater than Zero...
=AND(A1=True,C1>0)
You can then choose to hide column C
Full credit to the top answer by #rick-teachey, but you can extend that approach to work with Conditional Formatting. So that this answer is complete, I will duplicate Rick's answer in summary form and then extend it:
Select cell A1 in any worksheet.
Create a Named Range called THIS and set the Refers to: to =!A1.
Attempting to use THIS in Conditional Formatting formulas will result in the error:
You may not use references to other workbooks for Conditional Formatting criteria
If you want THIS to work in Conditional Formatting formulas:
Create another Named Range called THIS_CF and set the Refers to: to =THIS.
You can now use THIS_CF to refer to the current cell in Conditional Formatting formulas.
You can also use this approach to create other relative Named Ranges, such as THIS_COLUMN, THIS_ROW, ROW_ABOVE, COLUMN_LEFT, etc.
EDIT: the following is wrong, because Cell("width") returns the width of the last modified cell.
Cell("width") returns the width of the current cell, so you don't need a reference to the current cell. If you need one, though, cell("address") returns the address of the current cell, so if you need a reference to the current cell, use indirect(cell("address")). See the documentation: http://www.techonthenet.com/excel/formulas/cell.php
Reference to a cell that include this formula (self reference):
address(row();column())
E.g. getting the value of the cell above:
indirect(address(row()-1;column()))
Or what the OP asked:
=Cell(width;address(row();column()))