Forum Discussion
Using Names for cell references and would like to streamline things
Hello! I'm pulling a ton of sales data together for my small company. I'm using the NAMES function (mostly because it's the only way I know how to do this efficiently). I have coded all the appro...
My immediate reaction is don't do it like that. In their paper
Microsoft Word - Ruth McKeever_ARXIV.doc (eusprig.org)
the authors showed that this type of naming convention does not reduce the errors that characterise almost all spreadsheets.
I need to see what your Names actually refer to, but this type of name which encrypt distinct items of information is not a good idea. It is better to apply Names at a level that applies to the range that contains all such data and then use formula (XLOOKUP/FILTER or INDEX/MATCH for legacy Excel) to pick out the specific values required from the range. Aggregations such as subtotals and counts become much easier if data is identified at a more abstract level.
Hi Peter, Thanks for your response. You gave me just what I needed which was a place to start researching a more efficient way to do this. I only know the basics of Excel and this is like a hobby task for me... nobody minds if it takes me forever (except maybe me).
My research starts today! Thanks again, Amy
My research starts today! Thanks again, Amy