Excel Tips


Calculate a Formula in Slow Motion »

June 6, 2022

I am trying to trace how a formula is calculating. What should I do?


Before Deleting a Cell, Find out if Other Cells Rely on It »

June 3, 2022

I am about to delete a section of a worksheet that I believe is no longer being used. However, I know that if I delete the cell, and some other far-off range relies on the cell, the far-off range will change to the dreaded #REF! error. How can I determine if any other range refers to this cell?


Charts , VLOOKUP & Pivots Expand With The Table »

June 2, 2022

I always have to add new data to the bottom of my data. Then, I have to redefine the charts, pivot tables, and lookup tables that are based on this data.


Rename Your Tables »

June 1, 2022

Is a formula such as =SUM(Table1[Revenue]) supposed to be meaningful?


Dealing with Table Formulas »

May 31, 2022

Once I define something as a table, the formulas are strange.


Tables Are Like a Database in Excel »

May 30, 2022

Excel isn’t like Access. I am an Access person and Excel annoys me.


Whatever Happened to the @@ Function? »

May 27, 2022

Back in Lotus 1-2-3, there was an @@ function. If you used @@(A3), Lotus would go to A3. A3 was supposed to contain a valid cell reference. Say that A3 contained the text C5. The @@ function would then return the value from cell C5.


How Can You Test for Volatility? »

May 26, 2022

How do you know OFFSET is volatile and INDEX is not?


Replace Volatile OFFSET with INDEX »

May 25, 2022

OFFSET is a volatile function. It breaks the smart recalc feature of Excel. A single OFFSET function near the top of the worksheet will cause every formula in the calculation chain to recalc constantly.