Excel 2007: Show Formulas to Verify Your Equations

Contributed by Rob Rogers  
Tagged: Microsoft Excel  

One mistake that is often made in spreadsheets containing lots of data and formulas, is the accidental placement of numbers in a cell instead of the formula. It is a painful task to examine each and every cell one at a time to verify that the proper cells are using the proper equation. In addition, verifying that the cells referenced in the equations are correct can be equally overwhelming. Fortunately, Excel allows you to show the formulas of the entire spreadsheet so that you can more easily check your work. Excel 2007 does a great job of automatically expanding the cell size to accommodate long equations. Once you are finished verifying the formulas, a simple click of the mouse returns the spreadsheet to it’s normal data view with your formatting intact.

1. Go to the Ribbon.

2. Click the Formulas tab.

3. In the Formula Auditing section, click Show Formulas.

All formulas in the spreadsheet will be shown instead of the data. You can print this out for easier examination of your work. When you have finished verifying the equations and making your changes, simply click Show Formulas again to return to the data view.