The name box is a quick way to label and navigate within a spreadsheet. It’s easy to use. Let’s learn how to use the name box in Microsoft Excel.
How to Use the Name Box in Microsoft Excel
The name box is the area just left of Excel’s formula box on the ribbon. While it’s not very noticeable, the name box is actually a very powerful tool that you can use to label cells and navigate in your spreadsheets.
By default, the name box will tell you the cell that you currently have selected. For example, if you have cell D3 selected, you’ll see that the name box reads D3.
Now, imagine that you want to give cell D3 a name. To do this, simply click into the name box. The text inside will automatically be selected, and you can type in a name over it. Now, any time you click on cell D3, you’ll see your custom name display.
This also works with a range of data. For example, you can click and drag to highlight cells A1:A5. Then, you can type in a name for the data range into the name box. Any time that specific range is selected, your custom name will show in the name box.
The name box is also a great way to quickly navigate inside your spreadsheet. For example, imagine that you want to jump to cell C237. Simply type C237 in the name box, then hit Enter on your keyboard. Excel will instantly jump to that cell.
Similarly, you can navigate to a range of cells using the name box. Entering D55:D63 will take you to those cells, and they’ll already be highlighted and ready to copy or edit.
As you can see, the name box is a quick and easy way to label and navigate within your Excel spreadsheets.