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<meta>
<topic id="textscalcguidevalue_with_namexml" indexer="include" status="PUBLISH">
<title xml-lang="en-US" id="tit">Naming Cells</title>
<filename>/text/scalc/guide/value_with_name.xhp</filename>
</topic>
</meta>
<body>
<bookmark xml-lang="en-US" branch="index" id="bm_id3147434"><bookmark_value>cells; defining names</bookmark_value>
<bookmark_value>names; defining for cells</bookmark_value>
<bookmark_value>values; defining names</bookmark_value>
<bookmark_value>constants definition</bookmark_value>
<bookmark_value>variables; defining names</bookmark_value>
<bookmark_value>cell ranges; defining names</bookmark_value>
<bookmark_value>defining;names for cell ranges</bookmark_value>
<bookmark_value>formulas; defining names</bookmark_value>
<bookmark_value>addressing; by defined names</bookmark_value>
<bookmark_value>cell names; defining/addressing</bookmark_value>
<bookmark_value>references; by defined names</bookmark_value>
<bookmark_value>allowed cell names</bookmark_value>
<bookmark_value>renaming;cells</bookmark_value>
</bookmark><comment>mw changed "names;...", "addressing;..." and "references,..." entries.</comment><comment>mw added "renaming;"</comment>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="hd_id3147434" role="heading" level="1" l10n="U" oldref="1"><variable id="value_with_name"><link href="text/scalc/guide/value_with_name.xhp" name="Naming Cells">Naming Cells</link>
</variable></paragraph>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="hd_id4391918" role="heading" level="2" l10n="NEW">Allowed names</paragraph>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id2129581" role="paragraph" l10n="NEW">Names in Calc can contain letters, numeric characters, and some special characters. Names must start with a letter or an underline character.</paragraph>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id1120029" role="paragraph" l10n="NEW">Allowed special characters:</paragraph>
<list type="unordered">
<listitem>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id3362224" role="paragraph" l10n="NEW">underline (_) </paragraph>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id4891506" role="paragraph" l10n="NEW">period (.) - allowed within a name, but not as first or last character</paragraph>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id2816553" role="paragraph" l10n="NEW">blank ( ) - allowed within a name, but not as first or last character, and not for a cell range</paragraph>
</listitem>
</list>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id328989" role="paragraph" l10n="NEW">Names must not be the same as cell references. For example, the name A1 is invalid because A1 is a cell reference to the top left cell.</paragraph>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id32898987" role="paragraph" l10n="NEW">Names must not start with the letter R followed by a number. See the ADDRESS function for more information.</paragraph>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id4769737" role="paragraph" l10n="NEW">Names for cell ranges must not include blanks. Blanks are allowed within names for single cells, sheets and documents.</paragraph>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="hd_id1226233" role="heading" level="2" l10n="NEW">Naming cells and formulas</paragraph>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id5489364" role="paragraph" l10n="NEW">A good way of making the references to cells and cell ranges in formulas legible is to give the ranges names. For example, you can name the range A1:B2 <emph>Start</emph>. You can then write a formula such as "=SUM(Start)". Even after you insert or delete rows or columns, $[officename] still correctly assigns the ranges identified by name. Range names must not contain any spaces.</paragraph>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id953398" role="paragraph" l10n="NEW">For example, it is much easier to read a formula for sales tax if you can write "= Amount * Tax_rate" instead of "= A5 * B12". In this case, you would name cell A5 "Amount" and cell B12 "Tax_rate."</paragraph>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id4889675" role="paragraph" l10n="NEW">Use the <emph>Define Names</emph> dialog to define names for formulas or parts of formulas you need more often. In order to specify range names,</paragraph>
<list type="ordered">
<listitem>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id3153954" role="listitem" l10n="U" oldref="3">Select a cell or range of cells, then choose <emph>Insert - Names - Define</emph>. The <emph>Define Names</emph> dialog appears.</paragraph>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id3156283" role="listitem" l10n="U" oldref="4">Type the name of the selected area in the <emph>Name</emph> field. Click <emph>Add</emph>. The newly defined name appears in the list below. Click OK to close the dialog.</paragraph>
</listitem>
</list>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id5774101" role="paragraph" l10n="NEW">You can also name other cell ranges in this dialog by entering the name in the field and then selecting the respective cells.</paragraph>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id3154942" role="paragraph" l10n="U" oldref="5">If you type the name in a formula, after the first few characters entered you will see the entire name as a tip.</paragraph>
<list type="unordered">
<listitem>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id3154510" role="listitem" l10n="U" oldref="6">Press the Enter key in order to accept the name from the tip.</paragraph>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id3150749" role="listitem" l10n="U" oldref="7">If more than one name starts with the same characters, you can scroll through all the names using the Tab key.<comment>mw copied contents from Calc guide address_byname.xhp</comment></paragraph>
</listitem>
</list>
<section id="relatedtopics">
<paragraph xml-lang="en-US" id="par_id3153711" role="paragraph" l10n="U" oldref="8"><link href="text/scalc/01/04070100.xhp" name="Insert - Names - Define">Insert - Names - Define</link></paragraph>
<embed href="text/scalc/guide/goalseek.xhp#goalseek"/>
<embed href="text/scalc/guide/relativ_absolut_ref.xhp#relativ_absolut_ref"/>
<embed href="text/scalc/guide/address_auto.xhp#address_auto"/><comment>mw deleted one EMBED paragraph and copied two EMBED paragraphs from Calc guide address_byname.xhp</comment>
</section>
</body>
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