Concepts


How does inserting and deleting rows and columns affect cell ranges in functions?

You learned earlier that cell ranges can be used in functions to simplify the expression. For example, =sum(A1:C1) can be used in place of =sum(A1+B1+C1). But what happens to a cell range in a function when a row or column is inserted or deleted within the cell range?

In short, Microsoft Excel does the right thing. To be more specific, if you add a row or column within a cell range the cell range in a function is expanded to include the new row or column. If you delete a row or column within a cell range the cell range in a function is shortened.

And what happens when you add a row or column that starts or ends a cell range in a function? In this case, the cell range is left unchanged.

The following avi movie shows an example. Notice how the cell range in B5 changes after the new column is inserted.



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