Smartsheet Certification Practice Exam 2026 – Your Comprehensive All-in-One Guide to Success!

The dollar sign is used to create absolute references in formulas. In a spreadsheet context, when you place a dollar sign before a column letter (like $A) and/or a row number (like $1), it indicates that the reference is absolute and will not change when you copy the formula to another cell. This allows for fixed references to specific cells or ranges, which is crucial when you want to maintain consistent references in calculations, such as when applying the same percentage to a range of values across different rows or columns.

In contrast, square brackets are typically used in various applications to indicate a reference to a table or a specific set of data rather than for creating absolute references. Parentheses are utilized in formulas to define the order of operations and group arguments but do not serve to anchor cell references. The pound sign does not play a role in defining references in most spreadsheet applications; instead, it often denotes errors or special cases but is not relevant to establishing absolute references. Thus, the dollar sign is the correct symbol to use for making a column or row reference absolute in a formula.