How to Make a Cell Reference Absolute in Excel

When you copy and paste a formula to a new location in a Microsoft Excel 2007 workbook, then it will change that formula to refer to the current column or row. You can make the cell reference absolute so Excel does not change the cell reference column letter or row number. Follow the steps below to learn how to make a cell reference absolute in your Excel spreadsheet.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Microsoft Excel 2007

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2007 and open an existing workbook from your files or start a new blank workbook.
2. Click to select the cell where you would like to enter a formula where the cell reference is absolute.
3. Begin typing the formula into the cell. Type a dollar sign right before the column reference in the formula to make it absolute. For instance, you may type "$A1" into a formula. This means that wherever you copy and paste this formula, Excel will always keep the reference in column A.
4. Type a dollar sign right before the row number to make the row number absolute. For example, you can type "A$2" inside of a formula. This means that the cell reference will always refer to the second row, no matter where you copy and paste the formula.
5. Use dollar signs before both the column letter and cell number to make the entire cell reference absolute. If you type, "$A$2" inside of a formula than that formula will always refer to cell "A2."
6. Continue typing the rest of your formula. You can include dollar signs into other cell references inside your formula if you need to.
7. Press the “Enter” key on your keyboard to enter the formula into Microsoft Excel and view your calculation result.

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