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Excel's Formula - sisman

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54<br />

continued<br />

Part I: Basic Information<br />

The numbers in brackets refer to the relative position of the references. For example, R[–5]C[–3]<br />

specifies the cell that appears five rows above and three columns to the left. Conversely, R[5]<br />

C[3] references the cell that appears five rows below and three columns to the right. If you omit<br />

the brackets (or the numbers), it specifies the same row or column. For example, R[5]C refers to<br />

the cell five rows below in the same column.<br />

Although you probably won’t use R1C1 notation as your standard system, it does have at least<br />

one good use. R1C1 notation makes it very easy to spot an erroneous formula. When you copy a<br />

formula, every copied formula is exactly the same in R1C1 notation. This remains true regardless<br />

of the types of cell references you use (relative, absolute, or mixed). Therefore, you can switch<br />

to R1C1 notation and check your copied formulas. If one looks different from its surrounding formulas,<br />

it’s probably incorrect.<br />

However, you can take advantage of the background formula auditing feature, which can flag<br />

potentially incorrect formulas. I discuss this feature in Chapter 21.<br />

Referencing other sheets or workbooks<br />

A formula can use references to cells and ranges that are in a different worksheet. To refer to a<br />

cell in a different worksheet, precede the cell reference with the sheet name followed by an<br />

exclamation point. Note this example of a formula that uses a cell reference in a different worksheet<br />

(Sheet2):<br />

=Sheet2!A1+1<br />

You can also create link formulas that refer to a cell in a different workbook. To do so, precede<br />

the cell reference with the workbook name (in square brackets), the worksheet name, and an<br />

exclamation point (!), like this:<br />

=[Budget.xlsx]Sheet1!A1+1<br />

If the workbook name or sheet name in the reference includes one or more spaces, you must<br />

enclose it (and the sheet name) in single quotation marks. For example:<br />

=’[Budget Analysis.xlsx]Sheet1’!A1+A1

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