Content
Introduction
Range names are an important feature of Excel. This article demonstrates
many aspects of range names.
In Excel you can name a range of cells. When you do that, you can use
this name in your formulas, instead of the address. In general it is easier
to remember a name than a range address of a range of cells.
Using names has a couple of advantages: ranges are easier to find, formulas
are simpler to understand and maintenance of the spreadsheet model becomes
more reliable.
Furthermore, some things in Excel can only be achieved by using defined
names. But much more is possible with defined names than just naming a range
of cells. Because you can also put a formula into a name, a whole world
of possibilities opens up!
Even more so, you can put the old Excel 4 macro functions to use in a
defined name. This enables you to do things normally only possible using
VBA.
How To Define Range Names
There is a number of ways you can name a range of cells.
The first one is by using the Name box to the immediate left of the formula
bar:
When the current selected range is already named, the name box will show
its name. Otherwise you'll see the address of the active cell in this box.
Select the range you want to name and then click in the Name box and type
the name. Press Enter to confirm.
There is one drawback to this method. When a name already exists, Excel
will not apply the name to the selection. Instead Excel will select the
range belonging to the existing definition of the name you typed.
So the Name box can also be used to navigate to an existing name. Just
select it from the dropdown list or type it in the box and hit enter.
A fast way to create range names can be used when the headings of a table
already represent the names you would like to assign to its rows and/or
columns. See the table below:
Select the both the tables' content and its headers. Then click the Formulas
tab and click "Create from Selection".
You'll see this dialog popup:
By selecting the options shown in that screenshot, seven names are defined
in one go:
Apples
=Sheet1!$B$2:$B$4
The three cells below Apples
Pears
=Sheet1!$C$2:$C$4
The three cells below Pears
Bananas
=Sheet1!$D$2:$D$4
The three cells below Bananas
Europe
=Sheet1!$B$2:$D$2
The three cells to the right of Europe
Asia
=Sheet1!$B$3:$D$3
The three cells to the right of Asia
America
=Sheet1!$B$4:$D$4
The three cells to the right of America
TurnOver
=Sheet1!$B$2:$D$4
All cells in the table, except the headers
The third way to define a name through the user interface is by selecting
"Name Manager" from the Formulas tab (keyboard short-cut: control+F3) and
clicking the "New" button. This method will be used throughout the rest
of this article.
How To Use Range Names
Using the table I showed earlier, I'll demonstrate some options with
names. To calculate the total of Apples sold, one would normally use this
formula: =SUM(B2:B4). After defining names you can simply type: =SUM(Apples).
It is evident this is easier to understand.
Another interesting thing is that names are always arrays. If you select
three cells below each other and type =Apples, (followed by control-shift-enter
in older versions of Excel), you get:
you will get the values of the three cells Apples refers to.
But there is more. When you would like to know the apples sold in Europe
(1000) you can type:
=Apples Europe
By separating the two names with a space (also called the intersect operator)
you indicate you want to get the intersection of these two named ranges.
Since in this case this is a single cell, the formula returns a single number.
Names can be used in all areas of Excel that accept a range of cells
as an argument.
One example is Data Validation using the List option (See below). Without
explaining this powerful Excel feature I show you that using a defined name
enables you to use a list source that is not on the same worksheet as the
one you want to set the Validation on. Normally, if you would try to enter
a range of cells that is on another worksheet into the Source box, versions
of Excel prior to Excel 2010 show an error message:
In order to achieve this, name the range you want to use as the source
(e.g. Apples) and use this formula in the Source box:
=Apples
The Validation will now be accepted by all versions of Excel.
Absolute And Relative Addressing
When you define a name, Excel defaults to using absolute cell references:
Sheet1!$A$1. The dollar signs indicate that the address should be interpreted
absolutely, independent of the cell that calls the name.
You can also use relative references however, giving you interesting
possibilities.
If for example you select cell C3 on Sheet2 and define a name as =Sheet2!A1,
Then this name will point to a cell two columns to the left and two rows
up from the cell the name is used in.
So the formula =Relative in cell C14 on Sheet2 will point to cell A12:
The Context Of Names
When you define a range name using the methods described so far, you
will always get a defined name, which is visible throughout an entire workbook.
In general this kind of name is referred to as a global name. The workbook
is their parent object. Names can also be defined local to a worksheet.
By using the Scope drop-down, you can create a local name:
If a name has both a global and a local version, problems may arise.
On a worksheet with a local name it is not possible to use the global
name, Excel will always use the local name. On other worksheets, Excel will
default to the global name, unless you precede it with the worksheet name:
=Sheet3!LocalName
When one creates a copy of a worksheet to which one or more global names
refer, Excel will automatically create copies of those names local to the
copied worksheet. Name Manager shows the result of copying Sheet1:
Note, that the each name has acquired a local copy which has 'Sheet1
(2)' as its scope.
Special Names
Excel also uses defined names for built-in functions. The table below
lists a few:
Print area
Sheet1!Print_Area
Print Titles
Sheet1!Print_Titles
Advanced Filter Criteria
Sheet1!Criteria
It is not wise to remove or change this kind of names using the Define
Name dialog (or by other means), unless you know exactly what you are doing.
It is better to let Excel handle those names.
Up until now, the names in this article referred to ranges of cells.
In reality, a defined name in fact just holds a formula (like in a cell!)
and you can use any of Excel's extensive list of worksheet functions in
names. This opens up a world of possibilities!
Have a look at the screen shot below. Here a name called ColumnSum has
been defined, using cell B5 as the anchor cell. The principle of using relative
references has been used here as well, as shown in a previous section. The
formula for ColumnSum is:
=SUM(B$2:B4)
Or the sum of all cells as from row 2 down to the row immediately above
the cell in which the name has been applied to, restricted to the same column
as the name is used in.
So when you enter =ColumnSum into cell B5, in reality Excel will compute
=SUM(B2:B4) for you:
Similarly, when entered into cell D20, Excel calculates =SUM(D2:D19). The
advantage of using this technique shows especially with complex formulas.
Should you need to change anything to the logic of the formula, then it
suffices to just change the formula in the defined name as opposed to having
to update multiple cells.
Another nicety about named formulas, is that they behave as array formulas
by default.
Dynamic Names
Oftentimes you need to calculate (sub)totals of ranges to which data
is to be added at a later stage. It would be nice however if you wouldn't
need to adjust references in formulas every time data is added to the file,
it is more practical to let Excel do this kind of housekeeping for you.
By using the OFFSET worksheet function the exact range containing data
can be made dynamic. The OFFSET function has these arguments:
=OFFSET(StartingAddress,RowsDown,ColumnsToRight,NuberOfRows,NumberOfColumns)
Suppose you have a table like this:
and you want a range that refers to the apples column, adjusting itself for
the number of regions filled in in column A.
Using B2 as the starting address, go down 0 rows and 0 rows to the right.
Then count the number of rows in column A (for this you can use the COUNTA
function, which counts all filled cells in its range argument) and finally,
use a single column. The end result should look like this:
=OFFSET(Sheet5!$B$2,0,0,COUNTA(Sheet5!$A:$A)-1;1)
Because you don't want to include the row headings in the count, 1 is
subtracted from the COUNTA result.
This formula has been defined as ApplesDynamic:
Definition of a dynamic name (note the use of the semicolon list separator
in the formula, most users have to use the comma instead)!
Because column A has been used to count the number of rows that are filled,
the actual range this new dynamic name refers to will always be determined
by how many cells in column A actually contain information. Because of this,
you cannot enter any information in cells below the current table, or leave
rows empty inside the table: The dynamic range will be off by the number
of empty cells or by the number of extra used cells below the table.
When you now enter a new area into the table (like Australia in cell
A5), the name ApplesDynamic will automatically refer to the range B2:B5.
So when a sales amount for Australian Apples is entered, it will automatically
be used in any formulas that use ApplesDynamic. To ensure the ranges next
to the ApplesDynamic range are dynamic as well you can again apply the OFFSET
function. This time it will be derived as an offset from the ApplesDynamic
range: PearsDynamic will be defined as:
=OFFSET(ApplesDynamic,0,1)
In other words: PearsDynamic is simply ApplesDynamic, but shifted one
column to the right. The last one is defined using the same method:
BananasDynamic: =OFFSET(ApplesDynamic,0,2)
Finally, you can make the data area of the entire table dynamic as well,
so addition of fruits is accounted for automatically:
"TurnOverDynamic".
=OFFSET(Sheet5!$B$2,0,0,COUNTA(Sheet5!$B:$B)-1, COUNTA(Sheet5!$1:$1)-1)
As you can see, both the number of rows and the number of columns are
here determined using the COUNTA function.
Whether or not the names have been defined properly is easy to check.
Hit F5 (Goto) and type a name to check into the Reference textbox and hit
OK. Excel will select the computed area the name currently refers to.
A practical example of using dynamic names in combination with a chart
is shown in autochrt.zip.
Although dynamic names can be useful, it is better to
convert your range to a table and use table
referencing
Another Step
Further: XL4 Macro Functions In Names
It is not widely known that one can use XLM (no, not XML!) macro functions
(these go way back to Excel version 4) in defined names. This enables you
to do things you normally can only do using VBA.
One important warning has to be made though. When you copy a cell that
uses any name containing XLM macro functions to another worksheet, Excel
97 and Excel 2000 will crash! Copying the formula itself from the formula
bar (by selecting the formula and hitting control-c) will be no problem
however.
Example 1: Creating A List Of Files In A Worksheet.
You can do this by using the XL4 FILES macro function, applied in a name
called "Files":
=FILES(Sheet6!$C$2).
On Sheet6 in cell C2 you can enter a path and filename (including wildcards)
like "c:\*.*". In any column, starting on row 1 the following formula will
show the files found in that folder:
=INDEX(Files,ROW())
Copy this cell downwards until the formula returns #REF!. You can now
easily update this list to show another folder by simply typing the foldername
into cell C2.
Example 2: Reading the interior color of a cell.
With the function GET.CELL you can retrieve all kinds of information
about a cell, amongst others the colorindex of the interior (fill color)
of the cell. To achieve this, define this name (after selecting cell B2
on Sheet7): Name: CellColor, RefersTo:
=GET.CELL(63,Sheet7!A2)+NOW()*0
The addition of NOW()*0 ensures that the name is recalculated every time
Excel recalculates. The argument 63 tells the GET.CELL function you want
the interior color:
Note that you can use a relative reference so the name will refer to
a cell relative to the cell it is used in. In this example, the name points
to the cell to the immediate left of the cell you will use the name in.
Because changing the color of a cells interior will not fire a recalculation,
changing formatting wil not automatically change the formula results in
this example.
Using this new name enables one to e.g. sum all blue colored cells in
a range:
In this example, the ranges C16 and E16:E25 contain the formula =CellColor.
Cell D26 contains the formula: =SUMIF(E16:E25,"=" & C16,D16:D25)
Example 3: Adding just the displayed digits.
When you have set a particular number format to a cell to show e.g. just
2 decimals after the dot, rounding "mistakes" may show up in your spreadsheet.
This is caused by the fact that Excel uses all digits of the number in its
cells to do the math and not just the digits shown to you. The GET.CELL
function can extract the value shown in the cell (create this name whilst
in cell C2):
Name: NumberInCell RefersTo: =GET.CELL(53,Sheet8!A2)+NOW()*0
You can clearly see that the result in cell C9 differs from the result
in B9. Of course you could also use the ROUND worksheet function to
achieve a similar result, but the advantage of this method is that when
you change the number formats of the cells to be summed, the result will
reflect that (after a recalc of course).
Example 4: Referring to the previous and next worksheet.
Sometimes it is useful to have a way to have a formula point to the sheet
to the immediate left, regardless what sheet is moved or inserted there.
When this formula is copied from Sheet2 to Sheet3, the copy will refer to
Sheet2 instead of to Sheet1 (normally the sheet reference does not change
when copying a formula to another sheet). You need a combination of a couple
of names to achieve this. First define a name called "AllSheets", referring
to:
=GET.WORKBOOK(1+0*NOW())
The result of this name will be (in a workbook named Names02EN.XLS containing
Sheet1, Sheet2 and Sheet3):
{[Names02.XLS]Sheet1,[Names02.XLS]Sheet2,[Names02.XLS]Sheet3}
The name of the current worksheet can be extracted using this formula
in the defined name called "ThisSheet":
=GET.CELL(32+0*NOW(),INDIRECT(GetRC,FALSE))
The formula INDIRECT(GetRC,FALSE) extracts the cell from which the name
has been used. The GetRC name determines what letters Excel is using to
determine rows and columns (to make this formula work in any language version
of Excel):
Name: GetRC
RefersTo: =SUBSTITUTE(REFTEXT(!$A$1),1,"")
GET.CELL(32,..) yields the name of the worksheet that contains the cell
you extracted using the INDIRECT clause shown above, preceded by the filename.
On Sheet2 the result of this formula will be: [Names02.XLS]Sheet2
By using the following formula in the name called "PreviousSheet"), you
can extract the name of the sheet to the immediate left of the current worksheet:
=INDEX(AllSheets,MATCH(ThisSheet,AllSheets,0)-1)
The Match function gets the index of the current worksheet. By subtracting
1 you will have the index of the sheet to the immediate left of the current
sheet. Finally, the INDEX function gives you the actual name of the shet
(again, preceded with the filename). Similarly you can extract the name
of the next worksheet (name: "NextSheet"):
=INDEX(AllSheets,MATCH(ThisSheet,AllSheets,0)+1)
Finally the following formula will get you the value of cell B2 on the
previous worksheet:
=INDIRECT("'"&PreviousSheet&"'!"&CELL("address",B2))
And ditto for the next worksheet:
=INDIRECT("'"&NextSheet&"'!"&CELL("address",B2))
The file Arg2Name.zip on the download
page gives some examples of the use of XL4 macro functions in names.
If you want to learn what else you can do with these macro functions,
download the
old help files for here (in PDF format) courtesy MyOnlineTrainingHub.
Note that this chapter is now obsoleted by the
new LAMBDA function of Excel.
As shown in the file Arg2Name.zip (see the
download page), there is a trick
to pass arguments to a defined name formula.
First the named formula called Myref (see below) has to be created, which
evaluates the string of the formula of the "active" cell (the cell that
calls one of the other named formulas in this example) and extracts an address
out of that. In order to use these formulas, a trick is involved. The function
that contains the address should look like this:
=IF(ROW(ref),NameOfTheDefinedFormula)
The Myref function finds the "Row(" part in the string of the formula
and takes all text between that and the first closing paren to be a valid
cell reference. Myref in part is used as an argument to the other functions.
Define Myref as:
=MID(GET.CELL(6,INDIRECT(GetRC,FALSE)),FIND("ROW(",GET.CELL(6, INDIRECT(GetRC,FALSE)))+4,FIND(")",GET.CELL(6,INDIRECT(GetRC,FALSE)))-FIND("ROW(",GET.CELL(6,INDIRECT(GetRC,FALSE)))-4)
Note, that Myref has used the GetRC name demonstrated above.
Here are some examples that may be used in combination with the Myref
named formula. Define these names:
IsFormula =GET.CELL(48,INDIRECT(myref)))+0*now()
CellColor =get.cell(63,indirect(MyRef))+0*now()
RowIsHidden =IF(GET.CELL(17,INDIRECT(Myref))=0,TRUE,FALSE)+0*now()
RowHeight =GET.CELL(17,INDIRECT(Myref))+0*NOW()
An example how to use these functions in worksheet cells:
=IF(ROW(D3),CellColor)
Shows the colournumber of the background of cell D3.
=IF(ROW(D3),RowHeight)
Shows the rowheight of cell D3 (in effect of row D).
Bugs in Excel's Name Object
During development of the Name Manager, a number of bugs in Excel's defined
name object have been revealed.
From the Name Manager's Manual:
There are some bugs in Excel’s Names collection and Name Object:
RefersToLocal
The RefersToLocal property of a name will not accept formula strings
in Excel's UI language. For instance, in a Dutch Excel this code line:
Names("Test").RefersToLocal="=SOM($A$1;$B$1)"
Gives a runtime error, even if the formula is completely correct and
identical to a worksheet formula. In the Name Manager a workaround has been
used to overcome this problem. The RefersToLocal property ONLY accepts US
syntax for formulas and separators.
Showing The "Define Name" Dialog Through VBA Code
When one has an Excel version that is NOT English and one shows the Insert
Name dialog from Code, using either:
Application.Dialogs(xlDialogDefineName).Show
or
Application.CommandBars(1).FindControl(ID:=878, recursive:=True).Execute
It always seems to show the dialog with the cell reference in R1C1 (of
course Excel is set to A1)!
Names Local To Sheets With Special Characters In Their Name
When one defines a local name on a Sheet named "Test":
Name: Test!test
Refersto: "1"
and renames this sheet to e.g. "Hi! There!" (without the quotes), this
name becomes inaccessible for editing and deleting, yielding an invalid
name error message. Other strange characters in sheet names (especially
"[", "]" and char(3) ) may even cause a crash of Excel when trying to access
these local sheet names. A check has been included in the Name Manager to
overcome this problem.
Global And Local Names Sharing The Same Name
Accessing a global name whilst the active sheet has an identically named
name local to that sheet, will change the properties of the local name and
NOT the global name, even if the name is fully qualified with the workbook
name. Name Manager bypasses this problem.
Names Who's RefersTo Property Starts With =!
Names with refers-to starting with =! (for example =!$A$1) may give incorrect
results when calculation is called from VBA. Such names should (with this
example) give you the result of the cell A1 on the sheet the name is used
in, but when a recalc is forced through a macro, the name will get the result
form the cell on the active sheet! Name manager will show a warning message
whenever it finds a name of this type. If you want to have a name that will
refer to a fixed cell on whatever sheet the name is used on, use =INDIRECT("A1")
in stead of =!$A$1 to avoid this Excel bug.
Other issues with defined names
Auditing problems
Using defined names to make your formulas easier to read has disadvantages
too. Because normal cell references have been replaced with names, a spreadsheet
may become harder to audit. Especially if hundreds of names have been applied,
without any obvious naming convention, auditing such workbooks may become
a daunting task.
Copying sheets can create links in names
When one copies a worksheet from one workbook to another, defined names
may travel with the copy. All names that refer to the copied sheet directly
are copied to the other workbook. But also all defined names used on the
copied sheet are copied to the new workbook, but they keep referencing the
original file. Thus, a link between the two books is created behind the
scenes and mostly without the user realizing this has happened.
As long as one caters for these issues, defined names are an important
part of any spreadsheet model and can improve the maintainability of the
model too.
Conclusion
This article is focused on giving insight in the power of range names
in Excel. Starting off with simply naming a range of cells, continued with
the powerful option to put a formula in a name and topped off with showing
how to put XLM macro functions to use in defined names, enabling you to
do things you can normally only achieve using VBA.
By making proper use of defined names, you can build powerful and easy
to maintain Excel solutions.
Name Manager
Creating and editing Range Names in Excel is much easier if you start
using the Name Manager!
Links
There are various sites that have extensive information about Excel's
capability to define a name that refers to a range of cells or a formula.
An instructive one is:
Chip
Pearson (English)
