About Natural Language Formulas

When building formulas, you often need to stop and think about cryptic cell-reference codes when you really should be thinking about the spreadsheet model. Instead of using cell references in your formulas, you can use the row and column labels in a table, such as the one shown below. For example, it is much easier to remember the meaning of “Actual Sales” than what is in cell “B8.” This makes it easier to stay focused while constructing a model and to see what a formula does long after you’re finished.

Try to make your table labels as short and self-evident as possible, to make them easier to use. For example, type =Projected Facilities to refer to cell C6: the intersection of row 6 (Facilities) and column C (Projected).

Avoid typing labels   To save yourself the trouble of typing long label names into your formulas, you can define label ranges before you start creating formulas. First, select all the labels you want to use in a row or column. Next, click Name (Insert menu), and then click Label. After you define the label ranges, you can simply click cells and ranges you want to include in formulas, and the appropriate labels are inserted automatically.