Page 342 - Excel 2013 All-in-One For Dummies

324 Range Names in Formulas
To get an idea of how names can help to document the purpose of a formula, consider the following formula for computing the sale price of an item that uses standard cell references:
=B4*B2
Now consider the following formula that performs the same calculation but, this time, with the use of range names:
=Retail_Price*Discount_Rate
Obviously, the function of the second formula is much more comprehen- sible, not only to you as the creator of the worksheet but also to anyone else who has to use it.
Range names are extremely useful not only for documenting the function of the formulas in your worksheet, but also for finding and selecting cell ranges quickly and easily. This is especially helpful in a large worksheet that you aren’t very familiar with or only use intermittently. After you assign a name to a cell range, you can locate and select all the cells in that range with the Go To dialog box. Simply choose the Go To option from the Find & Select button’s drop-down menu on the Home tab of the Ribbon (or press Ctrl+G or F5). Then double-click the range name in the Go To list box, or click the range name and click OK or press Enter. Excel then selects the entire range and, if necessary, shifts the worksheet display so that you can see the first cell in that range on the screen.
If you’re using Excel 2013 on a Windows device such as a tablet PC without the benefit of a keyboard or mouse, you will definitely find it to your advan- tage to assign range names to often-used cell ranges in your spreadsheets. That way, you can go to and select these ranges simply by tapping the Name box drop-down button followed by the range name. That’s so much faster and easier than manually finding and selecting the range with your finger or stylus.
Defining range names
You can define a name for the selected cell range or nonadjacent selection by typing its range name into the Name box on the Formula bar and then pressing Enter. You can also name a cell, cell range, or nonadjacent selection by clicking the Define Name command button on the Ribbon’s Formulas tab or by pressing Alt+MMD. Excel then opens the New Name dialog box, where you can input the selection’s range name in the Name text box.
If Excel can identify a label in the cell immediately above or to the left of the active one, the program inserts this label as the suggested name in the Name text box. The program also displays the scope of the range name in