Excel Basics›Core· 30 min read

Cells, Ranges & References

A cell has an address like A1; a group of cells is a range like A1:A10 — and the dollar sign locks an address in place.

What you will learn

Write a range like A1:A10
Tell relative references from absolute ones
Copy a formula safely with the dollar sign

Addresses and ranges

Every cell has an address made of its column letter and row number, like A1 or C5. This address is also called a reference, because formulas use it to refer to that cell.

A range is a block of cells written as the top-left cell, a colon, then the bottom-right cell:

A1:A10 means the ten cells from A1 down to A10 (one column).
A1:C1 means the three cells from A1 across to C1 (one row).
A1:C3 means a rectangle: columns A to C and rows 1 to 3 (nine cells).

Relative references move when you copy

When you copy a formula to another cell, Excel shifts the references to match. This is called a relative reference — it is the normal behaviour, and usually exactly what you want.

Say cell C2 contains =A2+B2. If you copy it down to C3, Excel helpfully changes it to =A3+B3. It moved with you.

Absolute references stay put with the dollar sign

Sometimes you want a reference to never move, no matter where you copy it. You lock it with the dollar sign $. An address like $A$1 is an absolute reference — it always points to A1.

Multiply each price (B2) by a fixed tax rate stored once in E1

=B2*$E$1

Note: Output: If B2 is 120 and E1 is 0.1, the cell shows 12. When you copy this formula down, B2 becomes B3, B4 and so on, but $E$1 stays locked on the tax rate in E1 every time. Without the dollar signs it would slide to E2, E3 and break.

You write	Meaning	When copied down
`A1`	Relative — column and row both move	becomes A2, A3, ...
`$A$1`	Absolute — both locked	stays A1 always
`$A1`	Column locked, row moves	stays column A, row changes
`A$1`	Row locked, column moves	stays row 1, column changes

Tip: You do not have to type the dollar signs by hand. Click on a reference inside a formula and press the F4 key to add them automatically.

Watch out: Forgetting the dollar sign is the number-one beginner bug. If a copied formula gives strange or empty results, check whether a reference that should be fixed has slid out of place.

Q. You copy the formula =B2*$E$1 from C2 down to C3. What does C3 contain?

Answer: The relative part B2 moves to B3, but the absolute part $E$1 is locked and stays exactly E1.

✍️ Practice

Write the range that covers the first eight cells of column D.
In a fresh sheet, put 100 in C2 and the rate 0.2 in F1, then write =C2*$F$1 and copy it down to C5. Check F1 never moved.

🏠 Homework

Explain in two sentences, in your own words, when you would use $A$1 instead of A1 in a formula.