Selecting from the Use in Formula command Select a defined name from a list available from the Use in Formula command in the Defined Names group on the Formulas tab.

You can define a name for a cell range, function, constant, or table.

Once you adopt the practice of using names in your workbook, you can easily update, audit, and manage these names.

The following information shows common examples of names and how they can improve clarity and understanding.

Defined name A name that represents a cell, range of cells, formula, or constant value.

You can create your own defined name, and Microsoft Office Excel sometimes creates a defined name for you, such as when you set a print area.

Table name A name for an Excel table, which is a collection of data about a particular subject that is stored in records (rows) and fields (columns).

Excel creates a default Excel table name of Table1, Table2, and so on, each time that you insert an Excel table, but you can change a tables name to make it more meaningful.

The scope of a name All names have a scope, either to a specific worksheet (also called the local worksheet level) or to the entire workbook (also called the global workbook level).

The scope of a name is the location within which the name is recognized without qualification.

For example: If you have defined a name, such as BudgetFY08, and its scope is Sheet1, that name, if not qualified, is recognized only in Sheet1, but not in other sheets without qualification.

To use a local worksheet name in another worksheet, you can qualify it by preceding it with the worksheet name, as the following example shows: Sheet1BudgetFY08 If you have defined a name, such as SalesDeptGoals, and its scope is the workbook, that name is recognized for all worksheets in that workbook, but not for any other workbook.

Excel prevents you from defining a name that is not unique within its scope.

For example, you can define a name, such as GrossProfit that is scoped to Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3 in the same workbook.

Although each name is the same, each name is unique within its scope.

You might do this to ensure that a formula that uses the name, GrossProfit, is always referencing the same cells at the local worksheet level.

You can even define the same name, GrossProfit, for the global workbook level, but again the scope is unique.

To resolve this conflict, by default Excel uses the name that is defined for the worksheet because the local worksheet level takes precedence over the global workbook level.

If you want to override the precedence and you want to use the workbook name, you can disambiguate the name by prefixing the workbook name as the following example shows: WorkbookFileGrossProfit You can override the local worksheet level for all worksheets in the workbook, with the exception of the first worksheet, which always uses the local name if there is a name conflict and cannot be overridden.

Defining and entering names You define a name by using the: Name box on the formula bar This is best used for creating a workbook level name for a selected range.

Create a name from selection You can conveniently create names from existing row and column labels by using a selection of cells in the worksheet.

New Name dialog box This is best used for when you want more flexibility in creating names, such as specifying a local worksheet level scope or creating a name comment.

You can enter a name by: Typing Typing the name, for example, as an argument to a formula.

Using Formula AutoComplete Use the Formula AutoComplete drop-down list, where valid names are automatically listed for you.

Name Manger In Excel For Mac