How to keep a cell constant in Excel?
Here are three actions you can take in Excel to maintain a reference cell’s value:
1. Decide which cell to keep constant
Decide which cell you want to remain constant and why, whether you’re working with an existing spreadsheet or creating a new one. Choose the cell you want to refer to and enter the pertinent information. For instance, you might maintain a constant value in the cell that displays a tax or discount rate if you want to calculate prices. You could maintain the values in the cells representing costs if you want to calculate profits.
2. Select the formula that uses the constant cell
Add the absolute reference to the formula that uses the cell you want to keep constant. Select the cell that the desired formula is in after creating or choosing it in the spreadsheet. As a result, you can change the formula in the formula bar.
3. Designate your constants in the formula
For absolute references in formulas, Excel uses dollar signs (“$”). There are two ways to include the absolute reference in your formula:
The manual addition of the reference symbols is the first way to keep a cell constant in a formula. Select the formula-containing cell, then use your cursor to add “$” before the constant cell’s column and row names in the formula bar. If your formula makes use of cells D4 and E4 and you want E4 to remain constant, type “$E$4” as the cell reference.
The second approach creates the absolute reference using a keyboard shortcut. The “F4” key on a computer running Windows adds the reference. Place your cursor in the space between the column and row names while the cell with the formula is selected, then press the “F4” key. On some computers, pressing and holding the “Fn” key before pressing “F4” is necessary. With this shorthand, “$” is simultaneously added before the names of the column and row.
When utilizing the Mac operating system, a keyboard shortcut is also available. The “Command + T” keyboard shortcut includes a reference to the formula. Use “Command + T” to select the cell containing the formula, then, similar to Windows, position your cursor in the middle of your reference term. The shortcut increases both halves of the cell name by the symbol “$” You can make sure that your reference cell remains constant when transferring or copying that formula to other cells by including the absolute reference symbols in your cell constant.
Why keep a cell constant in Excel?
When using a formula across multiple cells and wishing for the reference to remain the same, you can make cells constant. In Excel, formulas use different types of references. Excel by default uses relative references, which are cell references that take into account the proximity of one cell to another. This indicates that if you apply the formula somewhere else, the cells that the formula references move. Absolute references refer to a cell’s specific column and row, so the cell is constant throughout the formula wherever it is used. Absolute references keep cells constant.
For multiple calculations, formulas frequently use an absolute reference to refer to a particular value. You could choose to enter this value as an integer to create your formula and then duplicate it in each new location. Using an integer depends on the formula remaining constant. You can alter the value in the cell without manually editing the formula if you create a constant cell that contains the desired value. This frequently assists with calculations when using a rotating amount for things like discount prices.
Tips for keeping a cell constant
Here are some tips for using and creating constant cells:
Create mixed references
Excel uses relative references, absolute references and mixed references. A mixed reference combines the other two types and maintains the constant value of either a column or a row. By appending a “$” to either the row name or the column name, such as “A$4” or “$A4,” you can create a mixed reference. This enables you to use a formula without manually editing it across a number of cells.
Sometimes, a formula will employ two mixed reference terms, one of which will maintain the row’s constant value while the other will maintain the column’s constant value. This often helps when calculating multiple values simultaneously.
Make ranges constant
Excel formulas can reference both singular cells and cell ranges. Similar to making a cell constant, you can also make a range constant. Add “$” to your range term in the formula bar for the desired formula. Use the manual or shortcut method to add “$” to all parts of your range to create an absolute reference to the range, such as “A2:A5” You can also use “$A2:$A5” to keep the column constant and “A$2:A$5” to keep the row constant to create mixed references. “.
Use the toggle function
Making cells constant in formulas requires the use of the keyboard shortcuts “F4” and “Command + T.” You can use the shortcut to change the format of the references after using the shortcut to add an absolute reference. Your formula term rotates through relative or mixed references by pressing the key two or three more times. For instance, pressing the key again will give you “$D5,” “D$5”, or “D5” in the formula bar if your formula refers to D5 and you used the “F4” shortcut to create “$D$5.”
Use the fill handle
The same formula is applied to several adjacent cells in a spreadsheet. Each formula can be manually entered into the formula bar, copied and pasted into each new cell, or used with the fill handle. By automatically applying and modifying the formula to the desired cell range, the fill handle can help you save time. Use the fill handle (“+”) at the bottom right corner of the formula cell to drag the formula to a chosen cell range after setting a cell constant. You can apply your formula to cells either vertically or horizontally by using the fill handle.
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