Cell references in Excel are like addresses that point to specific cells. Three types of Excel cell references are relative, absolute, and mixed, each with unique functions.

How to Format Relative References in Excel. Microsoft Excel relies on two fundamental reference types when addressing other cells. Absolute references -- which are denoted with a "$" -- lock a ...

Microsoft Excel updates cell references when you copy an expression. Here are a couple of workarounds for those rare occasions when you don't want to change the cell references.

Cells in Excel are referred to using relative or absolute references. A formula with relative references changes when the cell's position does.