Cell references

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4D v19

Cell references

Formulas often refer to other cells by cell addresses. You can copy these formulas into other cells. For example, the following formula, entered in cell C8, adds the values in the two cells above it and displays the result.
= C6 + C7
This formula refers to cells C6 and C7. That is, 4D View Pro is instructed to refer to these other cells for values to use in the formula.

When you copy or move these formulas to new locations, each cell address in that formula will either change or stay the same, depending on how it is typed.

A reference that changes is called a relative reference, and refers to a cell by how far left/right and up/down it is from the cell with the formula.
A reference that always points to a particular cell is called an absolute reference.
You can also create a mixed reference which always points to a fixed row or column.

Reference Notation

If you use only cell coordinates, for example, C5, 4D View Pro interprets the reference as relative. You may make the reference an absolute reference by putting a dollar sign in front of the letter and the number, as in $C$5.

You can mix absolute and relative references by inserting a dollar sign in front of the letter or the number alone, for example, $C5 or C$5. A mixed reference allows you to specify either the row or the column as absolute, while allowing the other portion of the address to refer relatively.

A convenient, fast and accurate way to specify an absolute reference is to name the cell and use that name in place of the cell address. A reference to a named cell is always absolute. You can create or modify named cells or named cell ranges using the VP ADD RANGE NAME command.

The following table shows the effect of the different notations:

Example	Type of reference	Description
C5	Relative	Reference is to the relative location of cell C5, depending on the location of the cell in which the reference is first used
$C$5	Absolute	Reference is absolute. Will always refer to cell C5 no matter where it is used.
$C5	Mixed	Reference is always to column C, but the row reference is relative to the location of the cell in which the reference is first used.
C$5	Mixed	Reference is always to row 5, but the column reference is relative to the location of the cell in which the reference is first used
Cell name	Absolute	Reference is absolute. Will always refer to the named cell no matter where the reference is used.