Part I: Getting Started with Excel
Creating range names in your workbooks
Excel provides several methods that you can use to create range names. Before you begin,
however, you should be aware of a few rules:■ (^) Names can’t contain spaces. You may want to use an underscore character to simu-
late a space (such as Annual_Total).
■ (^) You can use any combination of letters and numbers, but the name must begin
with a letter, underscore, or backslash. A name can’t begin with a number (such as
3rdQuarter) or look like a cell address (such as QTR3). If these are desirable names,
though, you can precede the name with an underscore or a backslash, for example,
_3rd Quarter and \QTR3.
■ Symbols—except for underscores, backslashes, and periods—aren’t allowed.
■ (^) Names are limited to 255 characters, but it’s a good practice to keep names as short
as possible yet still meaningful.
Excel also uses a few names internally for its own use. Although you can create names that override Excel’s internal
names, you should avoid doing so. To be on the safe side, avoid using the following for names: PrintArea, Print
Titles, Consolidate_Area, and Sheet_Title. To delete a range name or rename a range, see “Managing names” later in
this chapter.
Using the Name box
The fastest way to create a name is to use the Name box (to the left of the Formula bar).
Select the cell or range to name, click the Name box, and type the name. Press Enter to cre-
ate the name. (You must press Enter to actually record the name; if you type a name and
then click in the worksheet, Excel doesn’t create the name.)
If you type an invalid name (such as May21, which happens to be a cell address, MAY21),
Excel activates that address and doesn’t warn you that the name is not valid. If the
name you type includes an invalid character, Excel displays an error message. If a name
already exists, you can’t use the Name box to change the range to which that name refers.
Attempting to do so simply selects the range.
The Name box is a drop-down list and shows all names in the workbook. To choose a named
cell or range, click the arrow on the right side of the Name box and choose the name. The
name appears in the Name box, and Excel selects the named cell or range in the worksheet.
Using the New Name dialog box
For more control over naming cells and ranges, use the New Name dialog box. Start by
selecting the cell or range that you want to name. Then choose Formulas ➪ Defined Names