Insert Function does not overwrite negative values?

[jorlwebb]

This is something I have never noticed before (or forgot about over the years).

In Excel 2003, I have a negative value in a cell, but I want to overwrite it with a VLOOKUP function. When I click the Insert Function button, the VLOOKUP function is being added to the negative value in the cell instead of overwriting it. I noticed this doesn't happen for positive values.

Ex. Instead of showing =VLOOKUP() in the formula bar, it defaults to -1234+VLOOKUP().

Why is it doing that? Is there a setting/option I can change?

 

[Datsmart]

I have always started inputting functions by typing the equal sign first.
If you follow that procedure, if you type the whole function or choose to "Insert" it from a menu, it will properly over-write what is in the cell earlier.