You may find that you're experiencing calculation errors when you use this:

I'd try:
refers to: =indirect("a1:a3")

I don't recall the details, but I do recall people warning against what you
recommend. (It may have been using VBA to calculate causes errors when there
are names like this. You may want to google for more information.)

Bernard wrote:

This is the exact opposite of my previous post about "Defining identical
names that represent different ranges of cells".
In order to achieve this just type in an exclamation point before the range
definition, such as :

Insert/Name/Define
Name : Sales
Refers to : !A1:A3

The name Sales would then refer to cells A1:A3 local to every sheet.
Note that this is quite different from a "3D" reference.

--

Dave Peterson