Changing References in a Lot of Defined Names

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 26, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365


1

Bud has 50 or 60 defined names in a workbook. In a lot of these names, he needs to change any occurrence of $Q$4 to $Q$3. Bud can pull these up in the Name Manager and edit them individually, but he's wondering if there is a way to do it in a less manual manner.

There are two ways you can approach this issue. The first is to try to "cheat" and have Excel do the changing. Select the current cell Q3 and then delete that cell, moving the cells upwards. That will move the current Q4 to Q3, and Excel should update all references (including any defined names) to now reference Q3.

Of course, this won't work if making the deletion messes up the layout of your worksheet. In that case, you would be better served to use the second approach, relying on a macro. The macro can easily step through each of the defined names and make the replacement. Here's a very simple example:

Sub ReplaceFormulasInNames()
    Dim n As Integer

    For n = 1 To Names.Count
        Names(n).RefersTo = Replace(Names(n).RefersTo, "$Q$4", "$Q$3")
    Next
End Sub

The macro examines the RefersTo property for each name and, if it contains the text $Q$4 it is changed to $Q$3.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (13654) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Replacing Hidden Text

Word allows you to format text so it can be easily hidden from view and from printing. If you want to convert the hidden ...

Discover More

Formatting a Cover Page

Formal reports look better when they are set up with an introductory cover page. Here's how you can add a cover page in a ...

Discover More

Default Picture Location

When you insert pictures into a document, the first folder that Word opens up is normally the My Pictures folder. You can ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Inserting a Radical Symbol

The radical symbol is used frequently in some branches of mathematics. If you want to insert a radical symbol in a cell, ...

Discover More

Checking for a Value in a Cell

Need to figure out if a cell contains a number so that your formula makes sense? (Perhaps it would return an error if the ...

Discover More

Requiring Input

If you distribute a workbook that is used by others for data entry, you may want a way to make sure they fill in certain ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 9 + 5?

2025-04-26 12:49:12

J. Woolley

My Excel Toolbox includes the following dynamic array function to list defined names with workbook, worksheet, or any scope, including names that are normally hidden:
    =ListNames([Scope], [SkipHidden], [SkipHeader])
The list includes the following columns: Scope, Name, Visible, Refers To, Value, and Comment.
The NamesInFormulas macro in My Excel Toolbox lists hyperlinks to formula cells referencing each visible defined name (named range) in the active workbook; hidden names are ignored. The cell's formula is included in a comment attached to its hyperlink. The following details are also provided for each name: Scope, Name, Refers To, Value, and Comment. Results are recorded in the active workbook's 'NamesIn...' worksheet.
https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox/


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.