Switch Between Relative and Absolute References in Excel for Mac

I'm a longtime user of Excel for Windows, but recently a newbie with Excel 2008 for Mac where I found that out the Windows shortcut F4 doesn't work to switch between relative and absolute references when editing a formula. Thankfully Excel 2011 has a Switch Reference toolbar icon on the Formulas Ribbon, as shown below.

Switch Reference

Keyboard Shortcut in Excel for Mac

In trying to find a shortcut, I opened up Excel 2008 for Mac, went to the Help search bar, typed in "Excel Keyboard Shortcuts," and was able to find out that Cmd+T toggles the formula reference style between absolute, relative, and mixed.

So I go back to Excel 2011 for Mac and, lo and behold, ⌘+T works there as well.

Gotta love that keyboard shortcut list in Help. It's my new best friend in Excel for Mac. :)

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HowardFebruary 15, 2012 at 01:39 AM

Thanks, this helped a lot.

Gregoryexcelsemipro.comFebruary 15, 2012 at 03:51 AM

Always glad to hear I'm making things easier for someone.

jeffwww.greenberginc.comMarch 20, 2012 at 03:07 PM

Thank you! This is my new favorite blog :) Sincerely, Frustrated Advanced Excel User New to Mac

HazelSeptember 28, 2012 at 07:53 PM

This didn't work for me - my Mac continues to make the error noise when I press the shortcut.

Gregoryexcelsemipro.comOctober 1, 2012 at 03:44 PM

I'm sorry. Perhaps there is a difference with keyboards that are not US.

DavidDecember 8, 2012 at 04:09 AM

Thanks so much for the tip on switch reference. I couldn't get it to work and moved over to my PC to finish my spreadsheet. Now, after reading your tip, I'm happily back on the Mac.

FundaJanuary 2, 2013 at 05:36 PM

This entry helped me save tons of time! I'm converting to Mac so struggling big time. Thank you so much.

Keyboard Shortcut in Excel for Mac

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