Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Referring to the Last Cell.

Referring to the Last Cell

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 1, 2018)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


There may be times when you are putting together a workbook and you want to keep a summary on one worksheet and detail information on another. For instance, let's suppose Sheet1 is your summary worksheet, and you have detailed information for bank accounts on Sheet2. In looking at the detail information, you have dates in column A, and balances for different accounts in columns B, C, and D. Thus, the detailed information is a table that shows a running progression of bank balances on different dates.

In putting together your summary information on Sheet1, you realize that you need to reference the last figures in columns B, C, and D. These figures represent the latest balances, and thus are perfect for your summary. How do you do it? Particularly when you continue to add information to your detail worksheet over time?

Actually, there are several ways to approach the problem. (There are typically several ways to solve any Excel problem.) One way is to use the VLOOKUP function. At the point in the summary where you want the latest balance from column B of the detail (Sheet2), you would put the following formula:

=VLOOKUP(MAX(Sheet2!$A:$A),Sheet2!$A:$D,2)

To change references for the other two account balances, you would simply change the last number (2) to either 3 (for the account in column C) or 4 (for the account in column D). The function works because it looks up the maximum value in column A, which contains dates. It then looks in the data table (Sheet2!$A:$D) and finds the appropriate offset for the desired column.

This approach works fine, provided there are no dates in column A past the last balances entered. If there are, then the values returned will always be incorrect.

Another way to approach the problem is to use the INDEX function in conjunction with either COUNT or COUNTA. If the detail columns don't contain any text (even in the column headers), then you would use the COUNT function. If there is text included, then COUNTA is preferred. At the point where you want to include the last balance from column B of the detail, you would use the following formula:

=INDEX(Sheet2!B:B,COUNTA(Sheet2!B:B))

It looks into the table, determines the number of non-blank cells in column B, and then pulls the figure from that last non-blank cell. To adapt the formula for columns C and D, simply change the B references to the appropriate C or D.

Still another way to deal with the problem is to use the OFFSET function, as in the following:

=OFFSET(Sheet2!B1,COUNTA(Sheet2!B:B)-1,0)

This function returns the value of a cell offset from a base reference cell. In this case, the base cell is Sheet2!B1. The COUNTA function is used to determine how many rows to offset from the base, and the 0 specifies that the offset should be in the same column as the base reference. To change the formula for columns C and D, simply change all references to B to either C or D.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2170) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Referring to the Last Cell.

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

Status Bar Icons

Near the center of the status bar Word displays a number of different icons. This tip describes the meaning of each ...

Discover More

Speeding Up Document Display

Are your documents displaying too slowly? You can configure Word so that it is as quick as possible on displaying by ...

Discover More

Filtering Columns for Unique Values

Given a long list of names, part numbers, or what-have-you, you may need to determine the unique values within the list. ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! John Walkenbach's name is synonymous with excellence in deciphering complex technical topics. With this comprehensive guide, "Mr. Spreadsheet" shows how to maximize your Excel experience using professional spreadsheet application development tips from his own personal bookshelf. Check out Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Returning Blanks with VLOOKUP

Normally the VLOOKUP function returns a value, and if it can't return a value it returns a zero. Here's how you can use ...

Discover More

Returning a Weight and a Date

If you have two columns containing dates and weights from those dates, you may want to pick a date associated with a ...

Discover More

Looking Up Names when Key Values are Identical

Need to look up some values based upon some key items that may be identical to each other? Depending on the ...

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 five more than 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon 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.