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<a name="bm_id3147434"></a><meta itemprop="keywords" content="cells, defining names">
<meta itemprop="keywords" content="names, defining for cells">
<meta itemprop="keywords" content="values, defining names">
<meta itemprop="keywords" content="constants definition">
<meta itemprop="keywords" content="variables, defining names">
<meta itemprop="keywords" content="cell ranges, defining names">
<meta itemprop="keywords" content="defining,names for cell ranges">
<meta itemprop="keywords" content="formulas, defining names">
<meta itemprop="keywords" content="addressing, by defined names">
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<h1 itemprop="articleSection" id="hd_id3147434">
<a name="value_with_name"></a>Naming Cells
</h1>
<h2 itemprop="articleSection" id="hd_id4391918">Allowed names</h2>
<p id="par_id2129581" class="paragraph">Names in Calc can contain letters, numeric characters, and some special characters. Names must start with a letter or an underline character.</p>
<p id="par_id1120029" class="paragraph">Allowed special characters:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p id="par_id3362224" class="paragraph">underline (_) </p>
</li>
<li>
<p id="par_id4891506" class="paragraph">period (.) - allowed within a name, but not as first or last character</p>
</li>
<li>
<p id="par_id2816553" class="paragraph">blank (Â ) - allowed within a name, but not as first or last character, and not for a cell range</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p id="par_id328989" class="paragraph">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.</p>
<p id="par_id32898987" class="paragraph">Names must not start with the letter R followed by a number. See the ADDRESS function for more information.</p>
<p id="par_id4769737" class="paragraph">Names for cell ranges must not include blanks. Blanks are allowed within names for single cells, sheets and documents.</p>
<h2 itemprop="articleSection" id="hd_id1226233">Naming cells and formulas</h2>
<p id="par_id5489364" class="paragraph">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 <span class="emph">Start</span>. You can then write a formula such as "=SUM(Start)". Even after you insert or delete rows or columns, LibreOffice still correctly assigns the ranges identified by name. Range names must not contain any spaces.</p>
<p id="par_id953398" class="paragraph">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."</p>
<p id="par_id4889675" class="paragraph">Use the <span class="emph">Define Names</span> dialog to define names for formulas or parts of formulas you need more often. In order to specify range names,</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p id="par_id3153954" class="listitem">Select a cell or range of cells, then choose <span class="emph">Sheet - Named Ranges and Expressions - Define</span>. The <span class="emph">Define Names</span> dialog appears.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p id="par_id3156283" class="listitem">Type the name of the selected area in the <span class="emph">Name</span> field. Click <span class="emph">Add</span>. The newly defined name appears in the list below. Click OK to close the dialog.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p id="par_id5774101" class="paragraph">You can also name other cell ranges in this dialog by entering the name in the field and then selecting the respective cells.</p>
<p id="par_id3154942" class="paragraph">If you type the name in a formula, after the first few characters entered you will see the entire name as a tip.</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p id="par_id3154510" class="listitem">Press the Enter key in order to accept the name from the tip.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p id="par_id3150749" class="listitem">If more than one name starts with the same characters, you can scroll forward through all the names using the Ctrl + Tab keys and backward using the Shift + Ctrl + Tab keys.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<a name="relatedtopics"></a><div class="relatedtopics">
<p class="related" itemprop="mentions"><a name="related"></a><span class="emph">Related Topics</span>
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<div class="relatedbody" itemprop="mentions">
<p id="par_id3153711" class="paragraph"><a target="_top" href="en-US/text/scalc/01/04070100.html">Sheet - Named Ranges and Expressions - Define</a></p>
<div class="embedded"><p class="embedded"><a name="goalseek"></a><a target="_top" href="en-US/text/scalc/guide/goalseek.html">Applying Goal Seek</a>
</p></div>
<div class="embedded"><p class="embedded"><a name="relativ_absolut_ref"></a><a target="_top" href="en-US/text/scalc/guide/relativ_absolut_ref.html">Addresses and References, Absolute and Relative</a>
</p></div>
<div class="embedded"><p class="embedded"><a name="address_auto"></a><a target="_top" href="en-US/text/scalc/guide/address_auto.html">Recognizing Names as Addressing</a></p></div>
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