How to disable Excel's automatic cell reference change after copy/paste?

Question

I\'ve got a massive Excel 2003 spreadsheet I\'m working on. There are a lot of very large formulas with a lot of cell references. Here\'s a simple example.

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Answer 1

I came to this site looking for an easy way to copy without changing cell references. But now I thnk my own workaround is simpler than most of these methods. My method relies on the fact that Copy changes references but Move doesn't. Here's a simple example.

Assume you have raw data in columns A and B, and a formula in C (e.g. C=A+B) and you want the same formula in column F but Copying from C to F leads to F=D+E.

1. Copy contents of C to any empty temporary column, say R. The relative references will change to R=P+Q but ignore this even if it's flagged as an error.
2. Go back to C and Move (not Copy) it to F. Formula should be unchanged so F=A+B.
3. Now go to R and copy it back to C. Relative reference will revert to C=A+B
4. Delete the temporary formula in R.
5. Bob's your uncle.

I've done this with a range of cells so I imagine it would work with virtually any level of complexity. You just need an empty area to park the coiped cells. And of course you have to remember where you left them.