Complete Guide to Name box in Excel

You can do many things with the name box in excel. In this article, we have discussed complete functionality of the name box. Read to learn more

In Excel, the Name Box refers to an input box to the left of the formula bar – In the picture below as the cell A1 is selected, the column and row are represented in the Name Box.

The Name Box has three main functions inside excel: Selection, Navigation and Naming – See below what can be used inside Selection and Navigation functions.

1. Select and Navigate to a specific cell
   1. Type B5 in the Name Box

• 1. Press Enter

1. Select and Navigate to a specific range
   1. Type B1:B3 in the Name Box

• 1. Press Enter

1. Select a Range from the Active Cell
   1. Select the cell B1 in the Name Box

• 1. Type C10 inside the Name Box

• 1. Press Shift + Enter

1. Select a Cell in addition to Active Cell
   1. Select the cell B1 in the Name Box

• 1. Type C10 inside the Name Box

• 1. Press Ctrl + Enter

1. Select multiple Specific Cells
   1. Type A2 then B5 and C8 separated all by commas in the Name Box

• 1. Press Enter

1. Select Entire Column
   1. Type D:D in the Name Box

• 1. Press Enter

1. Select Entire Row
   1. Type 2:2 in the Name Box

• 1. Press Enter

1. Select Specific multiple row
   1. Type 3:7 and 9:11 separated by commas in the Name Box

• 1. Press Enter

1. Select Specific multiple columns & row
   1. Type B:C and 6:7 separated by commas in the Name Box

• 1. Press Enter

1. Select the intersection of Columns & Rows
   1. Type A:D and 3:8 separated by space in the Name Box

• 1. Press Enter

1. Select Entire Worksheet
   1. Type A:XFD in the Name Box

• 1. Press Enter

1. Add additional Ranges to selection
   1. Select A1:C5 in worksheet

• 1. Type E1:G10 in the Name Box

• 1. Press CTRL + Enter

1. Select the entire Column of the Active Cell
   1. Example: If C4 is selected

• 1. Type C in the Name Box

• 1. Press Enter

1. Select the entire Row of the Active Cell
   1. Example: If C4 is selected

• 1. Type R in the Name Box

• 1. Press Enter

1. Collapse Range to Active Cell
   1. Example: Select any range, in this case will be B2:C3

• 1. Type RC in the Name Box

• 1. Press Enter

Our Friend at How to Excel also has a great article about the name box in excel, check them out to learn more

If you want to learn how to add comments in Excel, you can check out this article to learn more