Copy the Excel RANK formula without changing the end reference

Question

Suppose I have a simple spreadsheet with 3 rows of data that I want to rank in separate columns. The example I will use is simple, but my actual dataset is 12k + rows. In this simple example, I want to use the RANK formula from Excel to do this. To rank the values in column Police, I'll use the formula =RANK(B2, B2:B11, 1), with B2:B11 being the range.

As I mentioned, my actual dataset has thousands of rows and many more columns to compare. Even in this example, I want a simple way to copy the formula to all of the other _RANK column cells. If I simply copy the cell to the other cells, +1 gets added to the cell value. This is what I want to happen, EXCEPT for the ending cell of the range.

As you can see above, this is incorrect. The formula gets set to =RANK(B11,B11:B20,1) for cell E11, when what I want is =RANK(B11,B11:B11,1). How can I easily copy this formula across multiple cells so that it is has the correct formula?

Answer 1

You can select any cells, press Ctrl + C to copy them, select the top cell in the current worksheet where you want to paste the formulas, and press Ctrl + V. Since Excel does not interpret the formulas without the equal sign as formulas, they will be copied exactly, without changing references.