Apple AppleWorks 5 : Windows 95/NT 4.0 - Manual (Page 156)

7-22 AppleWorks 5 User’s Manual
Cell references in formulas
A formula can contain references to a cell or a range of cells. AppleWorks
uses the data in the cells to compute the formula’s result. There are two types
of references: relative and absolute.
1
A relative reference gives the location of a cell relative to the location of
the current cell. If you copy and paste a formula with a relative reference
to another cell, AppleWorks changes the reference to reflect the relative
position from the new source cell.
1
An absolute reference stays the same when you copy and paste a formula.
To enter an absolute cell reference, type a dollar sign ($) before each part
of the cell address. You can also mix absolute and relative addresses in
the same formula (for example, =$A$1+B1).
Circular references Avoid circular references in a spreadsheet. A circular
reference occurs when two or more cells refer to each other—for example
when cell A1 contains =B2*3 and cell B2 contains =A1+4. A circular
reference also occurs when a cell refers to itself, for example, in the formula
A10=SUM(A1..A10).
AppleWorks marks cells that contain circular references with bullets. To
turn off the markings, choose Display from the Options menu, and then
deselect Mark circular refs.
* Choose Index from the Help menu and type the first few letters of the entry. Double-click the
entry and then double-click a topic.
In the Help index, * see:
E
cells, references
The formula in cell A3 is =$A$1+$A$2.
If you copy the data in cell A3 to B3, the
formula is still =$A$1+$A$2.
Relative reference
The formula in cell A3 is =A1+A2. If
you copy the data in cell A3 to B3,
the formula becomes =B1+B2.
Absolute reference
Circular reference