Introduction to Structural References

Ever seen a formula like =SUMIFS(Sheet1!B2:B3923, Sheet1!C2:C3923, A1, Sheet1!D2:D3923, A2) and wondered what it is really doing?!?

If so, you are not alone.

Formulas written with cell references tend to look complicated and clunky. What if we could write formulas in plain English?

That is what Structural References do. When using structural references in formulas, your focus will be on your data, not on which cell ranges the data takes up.

For example, you can write formulas like these:

• SUM(mySales[no. of customers]) to find how many customers we had.
• SUMIFS(mySales[no. of customers], mySales[product], “FastCar”) to find how many customers bought “FastCar”

Learn how to use Structural References and why they can change you life

Introduction to Structural References

[Watch this on our YouTube channel]

Download Example File

Click here to download example workbook and play with Structural References to learn more.

Learn more about Tables & Structural Refs

• Introduction to Tables in Excel
• Using Tables with VLOOKUP formulas
• How to preserve table column references
• Customizing table formatting

Do you use tables & structural references ?

I use tables all the time. They help me stay focused on analysis & visualization instead of cell addresses.

What about you? Do you use tables & structural references? Please share your experiences, tips & ideas using comments.

Bonus Video: Here is a video I did with Bill Jelen (MrExcel) about this topic.

Personal update: We are at beautiful Woodbury Inn on Blue Ridge Pkwy and loving our stay. See this video.