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Dealing with cryptic cell and range addresses in Excel 2007 can be confusing. Fortunately, Excel enables you to assign descriptive names to cells and ranges. Excel provides several useful methods for creating names, and this article shows two of those methods: the New Name dialog box and the name box. The method you choose depends on personal preference and techniques that may allow you to save time.
Using the New Name dialog box
To create a range name using the New Name dialog box, follow these steps:
1. Select the cell or range that you want to name.
2. Click the Formulas tab on the Ribbon and then click the Define Name button (or right-click the range and choose Name a Range from the contextual menu).
Excel displays the New Name dialog box.
3. In the Name text box, type a name (or use the name that Excel proposes, if any).
4. Optional: If needed, enter a comment in the Comment box.
You can enter a comment, for example, to provide a description and other details of the name for future worksheet auditing purposes.
5. Verify that the address Excel displays in the Refers To text box is correct.
To refer to a different address, delete the address and then either type the new cell or range address (with a leading equal sign) or use the mouse pointer to select the cell or range on the worksheet.
6. Click OK.
 | If you want to create several names in one go, use the Name Manager instead of the Define Name method. Click the Name Manager button in the Formulas tab. In the Name Manager dialog box, click New to add a name. After you finish adding a name, you're returned to the Name Manager dialog box, where you can repeat the process to create additional names. |
Using the name box
You can find the name box on the left side of the formula bar. To create a name by using the name box, follow these steps:
1. Select the cell or range to name.
2. Click the name box, and enter the name.
3. Press Enter to create the name.
 | If a name already exists, you can't use the name box to change the reference for the name. Attempting to do so simply displays the already existing name. |
Excel 2007 allows you to increase the width of the name box, so that you can see more of longer names. Drag the name box divider to the left or right.
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