# Microsoft Excel Copying Formulas - Microsoft Excel

## Copying Formulas in MS Excel

The most common tasks that is done in a typical spreadsheet is copying formulas.
Excel makes the task of copying an original formula to every place that requires a similar formula, when a formula uses cell references rather than constant values.

MS Excel does it automatically adjusting the cell references in the original formula to suit the position of the copies made.
It does this through a system known as relative cell addresses, where by the column references in the cell address in the formula change to suit their new column position and the row references change to suit their new row position.

The below example illustrates the following. To know the sum of all the rows at last , a formula is written for first column i.e. B. Sum of the rows from 3 to 8 in the 9th row.

After writing formula in the 9th row, the remaining columns can be dragged and the formula gets copied. After dragging we can see the formula in the remaining columns as below.

• column C : =SUM(C3:C8)
• column D : =SUM(D3:D8)
• column E : =SUM(E3:E8)
• column F : =SUM(F3:F8)
• column G : =SUM(G3:G8)