Forum Discussion
How do I turn off the autofill of the Spill Range Operator?
Hi!
Lets suppose I have a formula that takes in many different columns, or ranges, as is the case quite often. For some reasons, I would like to use a differen range. BEFORE the introduction of this feature, I would just by hand move the highlighted range from one location, e.g. column "A" to column "B". Any '$' symbols would stay and I would be happy. Now, doing the same, $A$1:$A$1001, gets replaced by B1#. This removes the "$" operator, that I do need when copying or moving the formula. Also, chnaging other parts of the worksheet than confuses the spill operator and suddenly my formula does not work anymore - without any changed to its inputs!
1001 elements was just an example. The reason in my case is that I normally operate over 0...n elements, which is n+1 elements.
The automatic appearance of the spill range operator annoys me on the daily basis and correcting it is a real hassle for me. I attached a quick example.
a) when in cell edit mode, if you move a range box with fixed reference indicators ($) to a spill range that spill range reference should also carry the fixed reference indicators ($) accordingly (e.g. $A$1:$C$3 moved to 3x3 spill range @ D1 should be $D$1#). Rules for mixed reference would be needed (e.g. in the above example if original ref was mixed like $A1:C$3 should it be $D$1# or D1# or something else?). Interestingly if you move a 'fixed' spill range box (e.g. $A$1#) to another area it WILL convert to a normal range reference WITH fixed indicators, but if you move back to original location the original fix indicators get lost.
b) when you copy a formula with a spill range reference and that new location is NOT a spill range it should revert to the corresponding range. So when you click on the formula and you drag the BOX representing the spill range operator to a range not defined by that spill range operator it WILL convert back to a normal range reference (as noted in comment above) but a cell copy operation does not do that equivalent.