Cell references have different formats, depending on such factors as whether the cell’s table has headers, whether you refer to a single cell or a range of cells, and so on. Here’s a summary of the formats that you can use for cell references
To refer to | Use this format | Example |
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Any cell in the table containing the formula | The reference tab letter followed by the reference tab number for the cell | C55 refers to the 55th row in the third column. |
A cell in a table that has a header row and a header column | The column name followed by the row name | 2006 Revenue refers to a cell whose header row contains 2006 and header column contains Revenue. |
A cell in a table that has multiple header rows or columns | The name of the header whose columns or rows you want to refer to | If 2006 is a header that spans two columns (Revenue and Expenses), 2006 refers to all the cells in the Revenue and Expenses columns. |
A range of cells | A colon (:) between the first and last cell in the range, using reference tab notation to identify the cells | B2:B5 refers to four cells in the second column. |
All the cells in a row | The row name or row-number:row-number | 1:1 refers to all the cells in the first row. |
All the cells in a column | The column letter or name | C refers to all the cells in the third column. |
All the cells in a range of rows | A colon (:) between the row number or name of the first and last row in the range | 2:6 refers to all the cells in five rows. |
All the cells in a range of columns | A colon (:) between the column letter or name of the first and last column in the range | B:C refers to all the cells in the second and third columns. |
In Numbers, a cell in another table on the same sheet | If the cell name is unique in the spreadsheet then only the cell name is required; otherwise, the table name followed by two colons (::) and then the cell identifier | Table 2::B5 refers to cell B5 in a table named Table 2. Table 2::2006 Class Enrollment refers to a cell by name. |
In Numbers, a cell in a table on another sheet | If the cell name is unique in the spreadsheet then only the cell name is required; otherwise, the sheet name followed by two colons (::), the table name, two more colons, then the cell identifier | Sheet 2::Table 2::2006 Class Enrollment refers to a cell in a table named Table 2 on a sheet named Sheet 2. |
In Numbers, when you reference a cell in a multirow or multicolumn header, the name in the header cell closest to the cell referring to it is used. For example, if a table has two header rows, and B1 contains "Dog" and B2 contains "Cat," when you save a formula that uses "Dog," "Cat" is saved instead. However, if "Cat" appears in another header cell in the spreadsheet, "Dog" is retained.