Excel for Marketing Managers

Coordinate Grid Matching

Coordinate
Grid Matching

strange pictures appearing in the cell. To avoid confusion, watch your typ-

ing in the Formula bar at the top of the worksheet.

a. Go to cell A1, and type in the following formula: =IF($A$8=”A1”,“J”,””)

Press Enter.

Translation: The IF statement says that if cell A8 contains a reference

to this cell (A1), put a capital J (the Wingding smiley face) in A1.

Otherwise, put nothing.

b. The formula for the rest of the cells in the grid will be almost identical,

with one crucial difference. The reference to cell A1 needs to be changed

to whatever cell the formula is in. In other words, the formula will look

something like this:

=IF($A$8=”this cell”,”J”,””)

Where “this cell” will be replaced with the cell in which

the formula is being written.

Don’t forget to include the quotation marks around the cell designation!

Note:

Notice the dollar signs in the cell designation A8 ($A$8). These denote an absolute

reference to that cell, which means that the reference will not change as you copy

the formula. A relative reference has no dollar signs (A8). The row and column

designators will both change, relative to the original cell, as the formula is copied.

In a mixed reference ($A8 or A$8), either the row or column designator will change

when the formula is copied, depending on where the dollar sign is located.

For additional details, see pages 47-48.