Absolute Reference in Excel In some cases, you don't want every reference in an Excel formula to update when you copy the formula to new cells.

Cells in Excel are referred to using relative or absolute references. A formula with relative references changes when the cell's position does.

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 $?

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.