Using relative positions in Excel formulas

Question

How do I create a formula that isn\'t made invalid when I delete a row.

For example in cell F12 I have the formula: =F11+D12-E12

This basically says take the

Answer 1

You can use either

• =OFFSET(F12,-1,0)+OFFSET(F12,0,-2)-OFFSET(F12,0,-1), or
• =INDIRECT("F11",true)+INDIRECT("D12",true)-INDIRECT("E12",true)
• =INDIRECT("R11C6",false)+INDIRECT("R12C4",false)-INDIRECT("R12C5",false)
• =INDIRECT("R[-1]",false)+INDIRECT("C[-2]",false)-INDIRECT("C[-1]",false)

Both functions also allow to specify ranges, just use whatever has your personal preference (see Excel Help)…