A range in Excel is a collection of two or more cells. This chapter gives an overview of some very important range operations.
A range is a group or block of cells in a worksheet that has been selected or highlighted. When cells have been selected they are surrounded by an outline or border as shown in the image to the left.
A range can also be a group or block of cell references that can be, for example,
- entered as an argument for a function
- used to create a graph
- used to create bookmarks to specific data in a workbook
By default, this outline or border surrounds only one cell in a worksheet at a time, which is known as the active cell.
Changes to a worksheet – such as data editing or formatting, by default, affect the active cell.
When a range of more than one cell is selected, changes to the worksheet – with certain exceptions such as data entry and editing – affect all cells in the selected range.