Cells in Excel are referred to using relative or absolute references. A formula with relative references changes when the cell's position does.

What Is a Structured Reference? Direct cell references in Excel link one cell to another using the column and row header labels. For example, cell A1 is in the first column and first row, while ...

Cell References in Excel Formulas When you create a formula in an Excel cell, you'll frequently include a reference to another cell in the spreadsheet.

Unlike relative references, absolute references do not change when copied or filled. You can use an absolute reference to keep a row and/or column constant.