how to create a dynamic chart in excel for mac with name manager

It is also a volatile function, but like I mentioned above, that might not matter.

I use dynamic ranges mostly for customizable drop-down lists.

To avoid showing a bunch of blanks in the list, I use a formula to reference a range that extends to the last value in a column.

The image below shows 4 different formulas that reference the range A2:A9 and can expand to include more rows if the user adds more categories to the list.

We can then use that Name in other formulas or as the Source for drop-down lists.

Instead, it is about the many different formulas you can use to create the dynamic named ranges.

It allows you to define a range with a specific number of rows and columns, starting from a reference cell.

The height and width values tell the function how many rows and columns you want to include in your range.

I want to allow the user to edit and add to the list, so the dynamic named range used by the drop-down needs to extend to the last value in the list.

I could define the range as A:A (the entire column) or A1:A1000 (assuming they wont add more than 1000 items to the list), but then Id end up with a bunch of blank cells at the end of my drop-down list.

If the last value in the column was on row 15, the formula for the named range would be.

I expect only text values in this list, so Ill use the MATCH function to find the last text value in the column like this.

What formula you use may depend on whether you expect there to be blank cells in the list, error values (like NA or DIV0), or data of different types (text or numeric or both), and whether calculation speed is an issue.

To create a formula that works in spite of these actions by the user, I like to use a label for the reference and include the label in the range, as shown in the following examples.

To exclude the label from the list, we are using an offset of 1 row and subtracting one row from the number returned by the MATCH function.

Also, any formula that depends on a cell containing a volatile function is also recalculated.

If you have a large file with thousands of inefficient formulas that reference a cell containing a volatile function, Excel may seem to take forever to recalculate.

INDEX is not, so some people prefer to use INDEX for dynamic ranges.

That means that just like OFFSET, you can use INDEX in many places where Excel is expecting a cell reference.

For example, to create the range A1:A4 you can use INDEX(A:A,1):INDEX(A:A,4).

Using INDEX( range,1) and INDEX( range,2) instead of just a cell reference makes the formula more robust.

But, if you create the formula as a dynamic named range, you can use the name as the Source for the drop-down list.

This template uses multiple customizable lists for selecting items descriptions, vendor and ship to addresses, and other options.

The item description list uses the OFFSET formula and the other lists use the INDEX formula.

How To Create A Dynamic Chart In Excel For Mac With Name Manager