How can you lock a cell reference in a formula?

Locking a cell reference in a formula is achieved by adding a dollar sign before the column letter and the row number. This process is essential when you want to keep a reference constant while copying the formula to different cells. For example, if you have a formula that references cell A1 and you want to ensure that it always refers to A1, regardless of where you copy the formula, you would change the reference to $A$1. The dollar signs indicate that both the column (A) and the row (1) should remain fixed.

This method is particularly useful in scenarios where calculations rely on certain static values, such as tax rates or fixed quantities, making it clear that those references should not change during the copying process.

Other methods for manipulating cell references do not effectively lock them in the same way as the dollar sign. Therefore, adding a dollar sign is the standard and correct way to create an absolute reference in Excel formulas.