The Excel Name Box: 6 Tricks Beginners Miss

The Excel Name Box is the small box above column A that shows which cell you're on. Most beginners only ever read it, but you can also type into it: to jump to a cell, select a huge range, pick whole columns, name a range or go to another sheet. Here are six tricks that save real scrolling, with examples you can try on any sheet.

What is the Excel Name Box?#

The Name Box sits at the top left of the window, at the left end of the formula bar and just above column A. When you click a cell, it shows that cell's reference: its column letter and row number, such as A4.

It works the same way in Excel for Windows and Mac. Click inside it, and its text is highlighted so you can type over it. Press Enter to go, or Esc to change your mind.

Trick 1: See exactly where you are#

The Name Box always shows the active cell, the cell you'd type into right now. In a big sheet with frozen headers and lots of scrolling, a quick look at the Name Box tells you exactly which cell is selected.

When you select a range, it still shows one cell: the one you started the selection from. In Excel for Windows, while you drag to select, it briefly shows the size instead, such as 5R x 2C (5 rows by 2 columns). That's a quick way to count rows without doing the maths.

The reference it shows is the same one you use in formulas. Excel cell references explained covers what each part means.

Trick 2: Jump to any cell#

Click the Name Box, type a cell reference such as D12 and press Enter. Excel selects D12 and scrolls to it, even if it's thousands of rows away.

This is faster than scrolling whenever you know where you're going. In a stock list, you can go straight to C9 to fix one count, type the new number and press Enter.

The Go To box does the same job: press Ctrl+G or F5 on Windows, or ⌃G on a Mac. For moving around without typing an address, see moving around Excel with the keyboard.

Trick 3: Select a big range by typing it#

Type a range, such as C2:C15, and press Enter. Excel selects every cell in it at once. This is most useful for large ranges: A2:F5000 selects nearly 30,000 cells in one step, with no dragging past the screen.

Once the range is selected, you can format it, copy it or clear it. For smaller selections, the keyboard is often quicker. How to select ranges fast covers Shift+Arrow and Ctrl+Shift+Arrow.

Trick 4: Select whole columns, rows or several ranges#

The Name Box accepts more than simple ranges:

The comma version is handy for formatting two columns that aren't next to each other, such as names and totals, in one go.

Trick 5: Name a cell or range#

Select the cells, click the Name Box, type a name and press Enter. The cells now have a defined name that you can use in formulas instead of the reference.

For example, put a tax rate of 8% in F1, select F1, type TaxRate in the Name Box and press Enter. Now =B2*(1+TaxRate) works anywhere in the workbook, and it reads more clearly than =B2*(1+$F$1). A name always points at the same cells, so it behaves like an absolute reference when you copy the formula.

Names have a few rules:

• No spaces. Use an underscore or capitals: Tax_Rate or TaxRate.
• Start with a letter, an underscore or a backslash, not a number.
• Don't make it look like a cell reference. Q1 and TAX1 are real cells (Excel's columns go up to XFD), so Excel won't accept them as names.
• Upper or lower case doesn't matter. taxrate and TaxRate are the same name.

To change or delete names later, use Name Manager on the Formulas tab.

Trick 6: Jump to a named range or another sheet#

Click the small arrow at the right of the Name Box to see every name in the workbook. Pick one and Excel selects those cells, even if they're on another sheet.

You can also type a sheet name and a cell to jump across sheets: Sales!A1, or 'Q1 Sales'!A1 if the sheet name has a space. This is quicker than clicking through the tabs when a workbook has many sheets.

Common Name Box mistakes#

A few slips catch most beginners:

• Typing data into the Name Box by accident. If you type Total there and press Enter, you create a name called Total instead of typing in the cell. Delete it in Name Manager if you don't want it.
• Forgetting to press Enter. Nothing happens until you do.
• Using a space in a name. Excel rejects it. Use an underscore.
• Typing a range the wrong way round. C15:C2 still works, but C2:C15 is easier to read and to check.

Practise with the Name Box#

You'll only start using the Name Box once it's a habit. The move around the sheet lesson has you jump to a cell, select a range and fix a value with the Name Box in a real stock list. If cell names are still new to you, start with the cells, rows and columns lesson. Both take a few minutes. How long it takes to learn Excel shows what to learn next, and why hands-on practice beats watching videos explains why short exercises like these work.