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96 Part II: Using Formulas and Functions

Figure 6-2:
The com-
pleted Loan
Payment
Table after
copying the
PMT func-
tion and
widening
the columns
to suit.

Using Range Names in Formulas

In completing the exercises in Chapter 5, you got experience with assigning a range
name to a cell that held a constant (named source) and then using that name in a link-
ing formula. This linking formula then supplied the basic value used in most of the
handmade formulas you then constructed on the worksheet.
Instead of assigning range names to constants that you actually enter into particular
cells of the worksheet, you can create range names that store constant values not tied
to entries in any cell. You can then paste the constant’s range name into any formula
that needs its value in order to successfully perform its calculations.

Another important use for range names is as identifiers of the cell references used in
the operands and arguments of the formulas constructed for a typical data table. In
this situation, you have Excel assign the table’s row and column headings as the
range names for data cells in the corresponding rows and columns. You then have
Excel substitute these range names for the cell references in all the formulas in the
table that refer to these data cells.

Try It

Exercise 6-4: Creating Range Names for Formulas
Open the Exercise6-4.xls file in your Chapter 6 folder inside the My Practice Spreadsheets
folder or on the Excel Workbook CD-ROM. This file contains a variation on the Spring
Sale table that you can use to practice assigning a range name to a constant as well as
create range names from a table’s row and column headings: