Building a Multiplication Table

The multiplication table is the perfect proving ground for mixed references. The goal: write one formula, copy it across the whole grid, and have every cell show the right product.

If you understand this, you understand mixed references for good. Let's build it step by step.

First lay out the headers. Put the numbers 1 through 10 across the top in row 1, from B1 to K1. Put the numbers 1 through 10 down the side in column A, from A2 to A11.

The cell where row meets column, like B2, will hold the product of its row label and column header.

Take cell B2. It should multiply its row label in column A by its column header in row 1.

• The row label lives in A2 (always column A)
• The column header lives in B1 (always row 1)

So B2 is A2 * B1, but we must lock the right parts so it copies correctly.

The row label must always come from column A, but its row should follow each grid row. So we lock the column only:

$A2

Copy across and it stays in column A. Copy down and it walks from $A2 to $A3 to $A4, picking up each new row label.

The column header must always come from row 1, but its column should follow each grid column. So we lock the row only:

B$1

Copy down and it stays in row 1. Copy across and it walks from B$1 to C$1 to D$1, picking up each new header.

Combine the two locked references and you get one formula that fills the entire table. Type this into B2:

=$A2*B$1

That is it. One formula, copied to all 100 cells, produces the complete multiplication table.

Select B2 and copy it. Then select the full grid B2:K11 and paste, or drag the fill handle right then down.

Every cell instantly fills with the correct product. No retyping, no manual math: the dollar signs do the work for all 100 cells at once.

Click on cell D5 to verify. Its formula reads:

=$A5*D$1

Column A walked down to row 5 (the label 4), and row 1 walked across to column D (the header 3). So 4 * 3 = 12. The mixed references aimed at exactly the right inputs.

Try the naive =A2*B1 with no dollar signs. Copy it across to C2 and it becomes =B2*C1: it now multiplies a grid cell by a header, which is nonsense.

The grid fills with wildly wrong values. The fix is always the same: lock the column on the row label and the row on the column header.

A quick way to trust the whole grid is to check its corners. Cell B2 should be 1*1=1, and the far corner K11 should be 10*10=100.

Click K11 and its formula reads =$A11*K$1: column A reached row 11 (label 10) and row 1 reached column K (header 10). If the corners are right, the mixed references held across the entire table.

This same trick builds any two-input grid: distance tables, pricing matrices by size and color, scoring rubrics, and currency conversion charts.

Whenever values pull from a fixed header row and a fixed label column, reach for $A2*B$1-style mixed references and fill the whole thing from one cell.

One final check on the multiplication table.

You built a full multiplication table from one formula: =$A2*B$1.

• $A2 locks the column so it always reads the row labels
• B$1 locks the row so it always reads the column headers
• Copy once to fill the entire grid

This mixed-reference pattern powers any two-way grid. You've now mastered absolute, relative, and mixed references.