Adding Excel anchors the easy way

June 10, 2013  |   Posted by :   |   Uncategorized   |   Comments Off on Adding Excel anchors the easy way»

Hey all you Excel users, tired of typing all those $ signs when trying to anchor formulas?  Next time try using the F4  function key. 

Here is how to do it:  

Lets say you have a formula and you want to anchor to a percentage in row 1 but have it change column assignments as its copied across columns.

The formula without anchors might look something like this:   =c1*c3

The formula WITH anchors would look like this =c$1*c3

 

Now how does the F4 key work?

Use the F4 key right after you type the cell address you wish to anchor. 

In this example you would key in =c1  then press the F4 key.  

Your formula will change to  =$C$1

Press the F4 key again and it changes to =C$1

Press the F4 key again and it changes to =$C1

Press the F4 key again and it changes back to the original formula  =C1

Once you have the appropriate anchor set, then simply continue typing your formula as usual. 

In this sample the key strokes would be as follows:

=c1

press F4 (changes to =$c$1)

Press F4 (changes to =C$1 so we just anchor to the row, not the column)

then type *c3

the final formula looks like this  =C$1*c3

Easy!  Try it out the next time you need to set some anchors in your formulas.


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