jjones,

You can actually do this any number of ways:

1) named cells. Select your text and values (which should be next to each
other, in adjacent columns), and select Insert | Name then choose Create,
and then put a check next to "left column" and click OK.

2) Use a VLOOKUP function. See help for details, and use False as the
fourth parameter, like

=VLOOKUP(A1,Sheet2!A1:B20,2,False)

3) Use a combination of INDEX and MATCH
=INDEX(Sheet2!B:B,MATCH(A1,Sheet2!A:A,False))

--
HTH,
Bernie
MS Excel MVP


"jjones2" wrote in message
...
I have a spreadsheet that has several columns including a column of names
and
a column of figures. How do I get it to name the cells in the column of
figures using the text in the column of names? I want to be able to draw
the
figures into another spreadsheet, and since they will change regularly
(weekly I will have to past new values in the spreadsheet), the only way I
can think to do it is to name the cells.