Simple examples with absolute referencing

This video will give you some concrete examples of how absolute referencing is used in Excel spreadsheets.

First it will show you some relative referencing, as information is filled into columns and then a formula is used to make some calculations. As you can see, the values in each newly filled cell are allowed to change to match the adjacent column - otherwise, the proper equation could not be fulfilled.

Later on, you’ll see an example of absolute referencing, with dollar signs ($) being used. These signs change the nature of an equation and force it to use only the cells you specify - they will not be able to change themselves to match adjacent cells. This is useful when you want a large quantity of cells to match only one specific individual cell.

Here you can read more about using percentages with absolute reference.