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Table Of Contents
101 Excel 2013 Tips, Tricks and Timesavers
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Tip 51: Formula Editing in Dialog Boxes
This is a simple tip, but one that most users don’t know about.
When Excel displays a dialog box that accepts a range reference, the field that contains the range reference is always in point mode. For example, consider the New Name dialog box, shown in Figure 51-1. This dialog box appears when you choose Formulas⇒Defined Names⇒Define Name.
If you activate the Refers to Field and use the arrow keys to edit the range reference, you’ll find that you’re actually pointing to a range in the worksheet — not editing the reference text. The solution: Press F2.
The F2 key toggles between point mode and edit mode. In edit mode, the arrow keys work the same as when you’re editing a formula. Also notice that the current mode is displayed in the left corner of the status bar.

Figure 51-1: The Refers To field defaults to point mode. Press F2 to switch to edit mode.
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