If you name the range and are in Formula View (Ctrl + ~) then you will see:

=x+2+3

... or whatever. You won't see the value of 'x'. But you must be in formula
view. You could always stay out of formula view and use another cell to
show the contents of the formula. An example can be found here...

http://www.vbaexpress.com/kb/getarticle.php?kb_id=62

HTH

--
Regards,
Zack Barresse, aka firefytr


"Jessica" wrote in message
...
Well, right, I told the person to use named ranges, but when you are using
a
name, and you type =x in a cell, the value of x is displayed, not x. She
wants x to be equal to ten, but she wants the cell to show the letter x,
not
the number ten, but she wants to add x + 2 +3 and have the answer be 15.

It's starting to look less and less possible

"Zack Barresse" wrote:

You can use Named Ranges. Hit Ctrl + F3, to bring up the Names dialog
box.
Type in the desired name, e.g. "x". Then go to the 'Refers to' box and
type
in your value. I would suggest to not use these too often and use with
caution; they can bloat a workbook extremely fast. Plus they are hard to
troubleshoot and use more overhead than just inputting the value.

You can reference a number or a cell using this method.


--
Regards,
Zack Barresse, aka firefytr


"Jessica" wrote in message
...
I have a user who wants to be able to have a variable (x, e.g.)
displayed
in
her worksheet, but she wants to be able to assign a value to x, then
use
the
sum function on rows or columns that include x. I told her how to use a
name,
but she really really wants the sheet to display the name, not the
value,
and
I have been unable to make Excel do that. Is it even possible, without
fancy
VB scripting?

Thanks in advance, even if the answer is no