Excel Define Name Dynamic Range

It s a descriptive name such as jan sales or june precip that is attached to a specific cell or range of cells in a worksheet or workbook named ranges make it easier to use and identify data when creating charts and in formulas such as.

Excel define name dynamic range. When you add a value to the range excel does not update the sum. Dynamic named ranges automatically expand and contract when data is added or removed. They are an alternative to using an excel table which also resizes as data is added or removed.

In the following screenshot we define a dynamic named range items that accommodates all cells with data in column a except for the header row. How to create dynamic named range in excel. This article describes a method to create a dynamic defined name.

But most time you need to add new data to expand the data values of your referred range in future. One way to create a dynamic named range with a formula is to use the offset function together with the counta function. The generic formula to make a dynamic named range in excel is as follows.

That means it ll never be too small or too big. Normally named ranges are very useful for excel users you can define a series of values in a column give that column a name and then you can refer to that range by name instead of its cell references. Dynamic ranges are also known as expanding ranges they automatically expand and contract to accommodate new or deleted data.

Offset is a volatile function which means it recalculates with every change to a worksheet. To expand the named range automatically when you add a value to the range execute the following the following steps. When we talk about a dynamic named range we re talking about using the name manager via the formula tab to define a name for the formula such as categorylist we can then use that name in other formulas or as the source for drop down lists.

Excel image from shutterstock. On the formulas tab in the defined names group click name manager. In microsoft excel you may have a named range that must be extended to include new information.