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Excel Formulas Step by Step Tutorial

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Excel Formula Example Step 3
Add Cell References Using Pointing

Add Cell References Using Pointing

© Ted French

Excel Formulas Tutorial Step 3: Add Cell References Using Pointing

After typing the equal sign in step 2, you have two choices for adding cell references to the spreadsheet formula.

  1. You can type them in or,

  2. You can use an Excel feature called Pointing
Pointing allows you to click with your mouse on the cell containing your data to add its cell reference to the formula.

After typing an equal sign in cell C1 in step 2:

  1. Click on cell A1 with the mouse pointer to enter the cell reference into the formula
  2. Type a plus (+) sign
  3. Click on cell A2 with the mouse pointer to enter the cell reference into the formula
  4. Press the ENTER key on the keyboard
The answer 5 should appear in cell C1.

If you have more than one row or column of data that you need to perform calculations on, it is often possible to copy the first formula to other cells.

The easiest way to do this is to copy formulas with the fill handle.

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