Q: My partner says there’s an F4 shortcut to creating absolute cell references in Excel formulas, but for the life of me I can’t make it work.

TL;DR Key Takeaways : Excel tables handle structured references inconsistently, behaving as absolute when copied and as relative when dragged, which can lead to formula errors.

Mastering Excel's dollar sign for absolute references enhances spreadsheet skills and productivity.

Is there a way to hold down shift/ctrl, etc to make a cell reference an absolute reference when entering a formula instead of having to go back and enter $?

Each cell in a worksheet has a unique reference that describes its position – for example A1. In a spreadsheet, there are two types of cell reference – 'relative cell reference' and 'absolute ...