Copying a Cell to an Adjacent Block of Cells by Dragging

Copying a Cell to an Adjacent Block of Cells by Dragging • A constant or formula can easily be copied from one cell to an adjacent block of cells by dragging. To do so, proceed as follows: • Select the cell to be copied. • Place the mouse pointer over (or close to) the small square in the lower right corner of the cell. (The appearance of the mouse pointer will change to a + sign when it is correctly positioned.) • Hold down the left mouse button, and drag the selection across all of the desired target cells. • Release the mouse button. The content of the original cell will then be copied to the target cells, overwriting any information previously in the target cells. Preparing a Table by Copying Cells Preparing a Table by Copying Cells COPYING AND MOVING FORMULAS relative address • Suppose, for example, that cell C1 contains the formula =A1+B1. • Now suppose that the contents of cell C1 (the formula) is copied to cell C2. • The formula will automatically change to =A2+B2, so that cell C2 will contain a value that is the sum of the values in the two cells to its left. • A cell address that is written in this manner is called a relative address because it changes automatically when a formula containing the address is copied to another cell. Relative vs. Absolute Cell Addresses • The formula in cell C1 can also be written differently, as =$A$1+$B$1. • A cell address written in this manner, with dollar signs preceding both the row number and column heading, is called an absolute address. • An absolute address does not change when a formula containing the address is copied or moved to another location. • Thus, if the contents of cell C1 is copied to cell C2, the formula in cell C2 will be the same as the formula in cell C1: i.e., =$A$1+$B$1. smart tags— small buttons offering choices that facilitate various editing and error-correcting tasks. Reading work • • • • • INSERTING AND DELETING ROWS AND COLUMNS INSERTING AND DELETING INDIVIDUAL CELLS ADJUSTING COLUMN WIDTHS FORMATTING DATA ITEMS DISPLAYING CELL FORMULAS