A cell reference is a cell's location in your sheet, given by the intersection of its column and row. For example, the cell at the intersection of column A and row 2 has the cell reference A2.
Cell references are useful when entering formulas and functions. If cell references are used, the formulas and functions you enter can include values from other cells in your sheet. Cell references are also used for other tasks, such as selecting a range of cells to print.
To refer to a cell, or group of cells:
Cells |
Reference |
Example |
Single Cell |
cell reference. |
A1 |
Cell List |
cell references, separated by commas (,) |
A1, A3, B2, B5 |
Cell Range |
cell reference of first and last cell of the range, separated by a colon (:) |
A1:A4 |
Range List |
cell ranges, separated by commas (,) |
A1:B5, C1:C3, D1:D5 |
Cell Reference Examples
Formula / Function |
Description |
=A1+A2 |
Returns the sum of the values in cells A1 and A2. |
=AVERAGE(B2, B5, B10) |
Returns the average of the values in cells B2, B5, and B10. |
=SUM(A1:C5) |
Returns the sum of the values in cells A1 to C5. |
=SUM(A1:A3, C1:C4, D1:D2) |
Returns the sum of the values in cells A1 to A3, C1 to C4, and D1 to D2. |
=SUM(B2:B5, C2) |
Returns the sum of the values in cells B2 to B5, and C2. |
=FIXED(C5) |
Returns the value in cell C5, rounded to two decimal places. |