INDIRECT function

Category: Lookup and reference functions

What does this function do?

Returns the reference specified by a text string.

Syntax:

INDIRECT(ref_text, [a1])

• Ref_text (required): A reference to a cell that contains an A1-style reference, an R1C1-style reference, a name defined as a reference, or a reference to a cell as a text string. If ref_text is not a valid cell reference, INDIRECT returns the #REF! error value.

• A1 (optional): A logical value that specifies what type of reference is contained in the cell ref_text. If a1 is TRUE or omitted, ref_text is interpreted as an A1-style reference. If a1 is FALSE, ref_text is interpreted as an R1C1-style reference.

Examples:

Imagine we have the following content:

=INDIRECT("A1") =B1, which is the content of cell A1.
=INDIRECT(A1) =6, which is the content of cell B1. The formula here has moved us to B1 as the content in A1 is B1.