Tutorials & Guides

Named ranges: make formulas read like English

=SUM(C2:C500) tells you nothing and breaks when someone inserts a row. =SUM(Revenue) reads like a sentence and keeps working. Named ranges are a five-second habit that makes every workbook easier to trust.

Create one in five seconds

Select the range, click the Name Box (the little box to the left of the formula bar that shows the cell address), type a name like Revenue, and press Enter. Done. Now use Revenue anywhere a range would go.

Why it's worth it

• Readable formulas. =SUMIFS(Amount, Location, "North") beats a wall of cell addresses — and is far easier to audit months later.
• They survive edits. Insert rows inside a named range and the name stretches to include them (especially if you base it on a Table).
• Fewer errors. You reference the idea (Revenue, TaxRate, Locations), not a coordinate you might mistype.

Manage them

Formulas → Name Manager lists every name, lets you edit the range a name points to, and cleans up ones you no longer use. Keep names short and meaningful; they can't contain spaces (use TaxRate or tax_rate).

Pairs well with

Named ranges make SUMIFS/COUNTIFS and data-validation lists genuinely pleasant to write and read.