How to create an absolute cell reference in an excel sheet using F4

How to Create an Absolute Cell Reference in an Excel Sheet using F4.

When we want to apply a value or values of a particular cell to a formula repetitively with other values in other cells we can do so by placing the value in a cell and making the cell an absolute reference.

In the sample below we would like to find the product of what ever percentage is in cell B1 and the values in column A. In our example we will be using 25%.

We choose the column in which we would like to see the product of 25% of column A. In our sample we would like the product of 25% of column A to show in column B. 

To do so we must select the cell in column B next to the value 100 in column A. After it is selected we enter the "=" to start a formula. In Excel a formula always starts with an "=" sign.

Then click on the cell we would like to take the first value from. In our case, we would like the value from cell A2 or 100.

Then we add "*" which means multiply in Excel.

Then we select cell B1 which currently contains the value of 25%.

While Cell B1 is still selected press "F4" on the keyboard. This will turn B1 into $B$1. Press "Enter" to finalize the change in the cell. When we see this it means that the values in cell B1 has become an absolute reference.

After cell B1 is finalized we should see the value "25" (25% of 100) in cell B2. Hover the cursor over the blue dot at the bottom right corner of cell B1 and the curser will turn into "+." If we Left click our mouse and drag down...

We should be able to see the product of 25% of the numbers in column A show up in column B.

We have now turned cell B2 into an absolute cell reference. If we want to change the value of cell B1, the rest of the numbers will also change accordingly. In the sample below I changed cell B1 to 35% and the new values in column B have changed to 35% of the values in column A.

I hope this tip will be useful for you in your future endeavors.

Feel free to comment if you have any questions or would like to learn about any other excel function!