Excel formula to reference 'CELL TO THE LEFT'

Question

I'm trying to do conditional formatting so that the cell color will change if the value is different from the value in the cell left of it (each column is a month, in each row are the expenses on certain object. I want to monitor easily changes in prices over months.)

I can do it per cell and format-drag it, but I would like a general formula to apply to the whole worksheet.

Thanks!

Answer 1

=OFFSET(INDIRECT(ADDRESS(ROW(), COLUMN())),0,-1) 

Answer 2

The shortest most compatible version is:

=INDIRECT("RC[-1]",0) 

"RC[-1]" means one column to the left. "R[1]C[-1]" is bottom-left.

The second parameter 0 means that the first parameter is interpreted using R1C1 notation.

The other options:

=OFFSET(INDIRECT(ADDRESS(ROW(), COLUMN())),0,-1) 

Too long in my opinion. But useful if the relative value is dynamic/derived from another cell. e.g.:

=OFFSET(INDIRECT(ADDRESS(ROW(), COLUMN())),0, A1) 

The most simple option:

= RC[-1] 

has the disadvantage that you need to turn on R1C1 notation using options, which is a no-go when other people have to use the excel.