Cell References and Sorting Photo credit: ©2010 Photos.com

This lesson will cover: Absolute and relative cell references. Using the sort functions in a spreadsheet.

Cell references Sometimes, when copying spreadsheet formulae you may want a cell reference to remain fixed. At other times you may wish for it to move relative to its position. Teacher’s note: You will often wish cell references to move (relative to their position) when you are replicating a formulae across a row or down a column. A common example is working out costs where you would wish a ‘price x quantity’ formula to be replicated. In this case having the cell reference move is a big advantage as it saves you having to type out a slightly different formula multiple times. In other cases you may wish to refer to a cell which contains data which you want to use in a formula applied to multiple cells. In this case you would want that particular cell reference not to change. Photo: © Guiliteiero Boffiti, Shutterstock.com When might each property be an advantage?

Cell references

Cell references

Sorting Sorting within a spreadsheet is easy: Highlight the area you wish to sort. Select Sort from the Data menu. Select your sorting options. Excel automatically sorts the data that has been entered into alphanumerical order, but you can select whether this is to be in ascending or descending order. You can also sort on more than one criteria, e.g. sort first by points and then by surname.

Sorting in Excel Functional Skills: This presentation covers the following Functional Skills standard: Develop, Present and Communicate Information Level 2 5.10 – sort records on one or more fields in ascending and descending order.

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