# Excel - how do I get the contents of any cell to display in a specific cell?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-how-do-i-get-the-contents-of-any-cell-to-display-in-a-specific-cell/366672>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 31, 2006, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-how-do-i-get-the-contents-of-any-cell-to-display-in-a-specific-cell/366672 "2006-07-31T05:43:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-how-do-i-get-the-contents-of-any-cell-to-display-in-a-specific-cell/366672/1 "2006-07-31T05:43:12Z")

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Basically, I’ve got a random number formula in Excel that can generate cell numbers (C345, H789, T23, etc). What I’m trying to do is to make another cell that will display the contents of that cell.  
(Example: I’d like a specific cell - C1000 - that would display the contents of the cell chosen by the random number formula. So, if cell C345 contains the word “answer”, then when the random number formula generates C345, cell C1000 would have the value “answer”.

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-how-do-i-get-the-contents-of-any-cell-to-display-in-a-specific-cell/366672/2 "2006-07-31T05:57:34Z")

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Make your formula the function of cell C 1000?

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**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-how-do-i-get-the-contents-of-any-cell-to-display-in-a-specific-cell/366672/3 "2006-07-31T08:12:21Z")

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Put the random number formula in, say, C1001. Then in C1000 put =INDIRECT(C1001).

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**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-how-do-i-get-the-contents-of-any-cell-to-display-in-a-specific-cell/366672/4 "2006-07-31T14:37:06Z")

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**Usram**  
That is it !!! (I was trying all kinds of functions, CELL, ADDRESS and _many_ others. I never got around to the INDIRECT function though.)  
Thanks.