Selecting and Naming Ranges of Cells

A range is a group of cells treated as one block. Instead of naming cells one by one, you point a formula at a whole batch at once.

You write a range with a colon, which means "through." So A1:A10 is cell A1 through A10: ten cells stacked in a column.

When both ends share a column letter, you get a vertical range running down one column, like C2:C100. This is the most common kind.

When both ends share a row number, you get a horizontal range running across one row, like A1:E1: five cells side by side.

A range can also be a block of rows and columns. A1:C3 covers a 3-by-3 grid: nine cells from corner A1 to corner C3.

To select a range, click the first cell and drag to the last. Or click the first, hold Shift, and click the last. The block highlights.

Functions love ranges. Instead of =A1+A2+A3+A4+A5, just write =SUM(A1:A5). Shorter to write, easier to read, simpler to update.

Say a week of sales sits in B2 through B8. One formula, =SUM(B2:B8), totals all seven days. Add a day, stretch the range, done.

Typing B2:B8 works, but you can give a range a name like WeeklySales. Then =SUM(WeeklySales) reads clearly at a glance.

To name a range, select the cells, then use the Name Box in Excel or Data > Named ranges in Sheets. Pick names with no spaces, like TaxRate.

A range can even live on another tab. Add the sheet name and an exclamation mark: =SUM(Data!A1:A10) totals A1 to A10 on a tab called "Data."

Count carefully how many cells a range covers.

Recap: a range is a block of cells written with a colon, like A1:A10. Functions use ranges to work on many cells at once.