thanks david and joel, i had found the offset function but wasn't confident
that that would help. looks like it's the best way to go. thanks again!

"David Biddulph" wrote:

Put
=SUM(OFFSET($A1,0,3*(COLUMN()-COLUMN($I1)),1,3))
into I1, and copy into J1.
--
David Biddulph

"rmmshost" wrote in message
...
Dave and Joel,

Thanks very much for the fast response but that's not what I'm referring
to.
I want the opposite of anchoring/absolute references, I want to cell
references to CHANGE when I copy it over. If I copy the formula over to
the
next column it also moves the cell reference one column, but I need a way
for
the reference to move more than one column.

Have a look at my original example and let me know if I need to explain
anything further.

Thanks!


"Joel" wrote:

the $ locks the row or column when copying. There is 4 ways of
referencing a
cell. a formula can contain many celss refereces, wher some will have $
and
other won't.

A1 - when copied both the column and row changes
$A1 - Only the row changes, not the column
A$1 - Only the column changes, now the row
$A$1 - Neither the Row or Columns changes

"rmmshost" wrote:

Hi,

I'm not even sure how to describe this problem, so bear with me ;-)

Here's a (hopefully) clear example of what I'm trying to do:

I'm working with 6 columns of data which are divided into groups of 3,
so
there is data in A1:C1 and E1:G1. In cell I1, I sum A1:C1 and THEN I
copy
over this formula to the next cell, J1, because I want to sum the other
3
cells, E1:G1.

Here's the issue: When I copy over the formula from I1 to J1 (one
column)
the cell reference in the formula also moves only one column and ends
up
trying to sum B1:D1. Of course, this is working as it should but I
really
need to find a way to make the cell reference refer to E1:G1 when I
copy it
over. (By the way, I'm providing this extremely simplified version for
demonstration purposes.)

Can anyone help with this? Let me know if you need any clarifications
on
what I'm trying to do.

Thanks!