Cells are identified by their position on the grid of an Excel spreadsheet — their so-called cell address. This address is normally noted with the cell's column letter followed by its row number. So the first cell (located at the intersection of the first column and row) in every Excel spreadsheet has the address A1.

Cell ranges are always noted in formulas by the first and last cell that you select, separated by a colon (:); therefore, if you select cell A1 as the first cell and H10 as the last cell, and then use the range in a formula, the cell range appears as A1:H10. This same block of cells can just as well be noted as H10:A1 if you selected cell H10 before cell A1. Likewise, the same range can be equally noted as H1:A10 or A10:H1, depending on which corner cell you select first and which opposite corner you select last. Keep in mind that despite the various range notations that you can use (A1:H:10, H10:A1, H1:A10, A10:H1), you are working with the same block of cells, the main difference being that each has a different active cell whose address appears in the Name box on the Formula bar (A1, H10, H1, and A10, respectively).