Learn a useful worksheet habit
Relative vs absolute Excel references: a practice example
See what changes when a formula moves down one row, and why dollar signs keep a shared input fixed.
Decide what should move
A copied formula may need a different row’s input and the same shared rate. A relative reference moves with the copy. An absolute reference locks both its column and row. Dollar signs describe that copying behavior; they do not apply currency formatting.
Work through two rows
Use this illustrative table in a disposable workbook:
| Cell | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| B2 | 80 | First amount |
| B3 | 120 | Second amount |
| E1 | 0.10 | Shared rate |
In C2, enter =B2*$E$1. The result is 8. When this formula is copied one row down, the intended expression is =B3*$E$1, giving 12. B2 moves to B3; E1 stays fixed.
Predict before you calculate
Without the locks, copying =B2*E1 down produces =B3*E2. That now reads a different rate cell. Looking only at one result can hide this mistake; inspect the destination formula and test a changed rate. If E1 becomes 0.20, the correctly linked results become 16 and 24.
A mixed reference locks only one axis: $E1 fixes column E, while E$1 fixes row 1. Choose locks based on the directions you intend to copy.
Practice in the formula course
SheetFluency’s Formula foundations course includes Relative references (F10), Absolute references (F11) and Mixed references (F12), with prerequisites. Open the course and follow the available lesson progression; this link does not skip directly to those lessons. You can type dollar signs explicitly, so this example does not depend on the browser delivering F4.
Excel reference: Microsoft’s documentation. Examples and explanations on this page are original SheetFluency practice material.