Excel Dollar Signs or, to be correct, Absolute References are one of those things that you really need to know about if you want to be successful with your Excel formulas. And it’s good idea to know about the F4 shortcut key.
Way back in the last century we always used to say that if you didn’t know your function keys then you weren’t being serious. Thankfully, those days have passed but you still need to know the F4 key for working with Excel formulas. The F4 key will repeat the last command or keystroke when you’re working in Word, Excel or PowerPoint. However, it’s primary use in Excel is for inserting the dollar signs ($) for Absolute cell references in your Excel formulas.
You may have seen cell references in formulas surrounded by ‘$’ signs, for example $D$3:$D$10, and wondered what’s that all about? The ‘$’ before the column or row reference fixes the reference so that it does not change when it’s copied. You either have to type in the $ signs or press the F4 key. Be careful with the F4 key on your laptop, if it does not seem to work properly then press Fn and F4 together. Press CMD+T if you’re working with Excel for Mac.