A cell in a worksheet is identified as C5, D8 etc. When a cell is referred to in a formula, this is called cell referencing. There are three types of referencing.
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Relative References
When you create a formula, references to cells or ranges are usually based on their position relative to the cell that contains the formula. In the following example, cell B6 contains the formula =A5; Microsoft Excel finds the value of one cell above and one cell to the left of B6. This is known as a relative reference.
When you copy a formula that uses relative references, Excel automatically adjusts the references in the pasted formula to refer to different cells relative to the position of the formula. In the following example, the formula in cell B6, = A5, which is one cell above and to the left of B6, has been copied to B7. Excel has adjusted the formula in cell B7 to =A6, which refers to the cell that is one cell above and to the left of cell B7. Therefore in relative referencing, cells are referenced to by their position in the worksheet on the basis of their position relative to the cell containing formula.
Absolute Referencing
If you do not want Excel to adjust references when you copy a formula to a different cell, use an absolute reference. For example, if your formula multiplies cell A5 with cell (=A5*C1) and you copy the formula to another cell, Excel will adjust both references. You can create an absolute reference to cell C1 by placing a dollar sign ($) before the parts of the references that do not change. To create an absolute reference to cell C1, for example, add dollar sign to the formula as follows :
Therefore in absolute referencing the cell referencing is copied for a different cell. Cells are referenced by their fixed positions in the worksheet.
Mixed Referencing
Combines the features of absolute and cell references. In absolute addressing Row and Column both are fixed. In mixed addressing only row or column is fixed, example $B9 means “B” column fixed. B$9 means “9” row is fixed.
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