Chapter 1: Range Names

Overview

• I want to total sales in Arizona, California, Montana, New York, and New Jersey. Can I use a formula to compute total sales in a form such as AZ+CA+MT+NY+NJ instead of SUM(A21:A25) and still get the right answer?

• What does a formula like Average(A:A) do?

• What is the difference between a name with workbook scope and one with worksheet scope?

• I really am getting to like range names. I have started defining range names for many of the workbooks I have developed at the office. However, the range names do not show up in my formulas. How can I make recently created range names show up in previously created formulas?

• How can I easily select a cell range?

• How can I paste a list of all range names (and the cells they represent) into my worksheet?

You have probably worked with worksheets that use formulas such as SUM(A5000:A5049). Then you have to find out what’s contained in cells A5000:A5049. If cells A5000:A5049 contain sales in each U.S. state, wouldn’t the formula SUM(USSales) be easier to understand? In this chapter, I’ll teach you how to name individual cells or ranges of cells. I’ll also show you how to use range names in formulas.