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Excel Home > Formula and name basics > Correcting formulas

Find and correct errors in formulas

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Formulas can sometimes result in error values in addition to returning unintended

results. The following are some tools that you can use to find and investigate the

causes of these errors and determine solutions.

What do you want to do?

Learn how to enter a simple formula

Correct common errors when entering formulas

Correct common problems in formulas

Turn error checking rules on or off

Correct common formula errors one at a time

Mark common formula errors on the worksheet and correct them there

Correct an error value

Watch a formula and its result by using the Watch Window

Add cells to the Watch Window

Remove cells from the Watch Window

Evaluate a nested formula one step at a time

Display the relationships between formulas and cells

Learn how to enter a simple formula

Formulas are equations that perform calculations on values in your worksheet. A

formula starts with an equal sign (=). For example, the following formula adds 3 to

1.

=3+1
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Watch the following video to see how to enter this simple formula. In addition, the

video demonstrates how to do simple subtraction, how to use the SUM function to

add a series of numbers or a range of cells, and explains why there is no SUBTRACT

function in Excel.

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Video created by Office Online staff writers

Problems watching the video?Try our troubleshooting tips.

A formula can also contain any or all of the following: functions (function: A

prewritten formula that takes a value or values, performs an operation, and returns

a value or values. Use functions to simplify and shorten formulas on a worksheet,

especially those that perform lengthy or complex calculations.), references,

operators (operator: A sign or symbol that specifies the type of calculation to

perform within an expression. There are mathematical, comparison, logical, and

reference operators.), and constants (constant: A value that is not calculated and,

therefore, does not change. For example, the number 210, and the text "Quarterly

Earnings" are constants. An expression, or a value resulting from an expression, is

not a constant.).

Parts of a formula
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Functions: The PI() function returns the value of pi: 3.142...

References: A2 returns the value in cell A2.

Constants: Numbers or text values entered directly into a formula, such as 2.

Operators: The ^ (caret) operator raises a number to a power, and the *

(asterisk) operator multiplies.

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Correct common errors when entering formulas

The following table summarizes some of the the most common errors that a user

can make when entering a formula, and explains how to correct those errors:

Make sure that

you More information

Start every function

with the equal sign

(=)

If you omit the equal sign, what you type may be displayed as

text or as a date. For example, if you type SUM(A1:A10),

Microsoft Office Excel displays the text string SUM(A1:A10)

and does not perform the calculation. If you type 11/2, Excel

displays the date 2-Nov (assuming the cell format is General)

instead of dividing 11 by 2.

Match all open andclose parentheses

Make sure that all parentheses are part of a matching pair(opening and closing). When you use a function in a formula,

it is important for each parenthesis to be in its correct position

for the function to work correctly. For example, the formula

=IF(B5


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that a function uses to perform operations or calculations. The

type of argument a function uses is specific to the function.

Common arguments that are used within functions include

numbers, text, cell references, and names.). Also, make sure

that you have not entered too many arguments.

Enter the correct

type of arguments

Some functions, such as SUM, require numerical arguments.

Other functions, such as REPLACE, require a text value for at

least one of their arguments. If you use the wrong type of

data as an argument, Excel may return unexpected results or

display an error.

Nest no more than

64 functions

You can enter, or nest, no more than 64 levels of functions

within a function.

Enclose other sheet

names in single

quotation marks

If the formula refers to values or cells on other worksheets or

workbooks, and the name of the other workbook or worksheet

contains a nonalphabetical character, you must enclose itsname within single quotation marks ( ' ).

Place an

exclamation point

(!) after a

worksheet name

when you refer to it

in a formula

For example, to return the value from cell D3 in a worksheet

named Quarterly Data in the same workbook, use this

formula: ='Quarterly Data'!D3.

Include the path to

external

workbooks

Make sure that each external reference (external reference: A

reference to a cell or range on a sheet in another Excel

workbook, or a reference to a defined name in anotherworkbook.) contains a workbook name and the path to the

workbook.

A reference to a workbook includes the name of the workbook

and must be enclosed in brackets ([]). The reference must

also contain the name of the worksheet in the workbook.

For example, to include a reference to cells A1 through A8 on

the worksheet named Sales in the workbook (that is currently

open in Excel) named Q2 Operations.xlsx, the formula looks

like this: =[Q2 Operations.xlsx]Sales!A1:A8.

If the workbook that you want to refer to is not open in Excel,

you can still include a reference to it in a formula. You provide

the full path to the file, such as in the following example:

=ROWS('C:\My Documents\[Q2 Operations.xlsx]Sales'!A1:A8).

This formula returns the number of rows in the range that

includes cells A1 through A8 in the other workbook (8).

Note If the full path contains space characters, as does the

preceding example, you must enclose the path in single
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quotation marks (at the beginning of the path and after the

name of the worksheet, before the exclamation point).

Enter numbers

without formatting

Do not format numbers when you enter them in formulas. For

example, if the value that you want to enter is $1,000, enter

1000 in the formula. If you enter a comma as part of a

number, Excel treats it as a separator character. If you want

numbers displayed so that they show thousands or millions

separators, or currency symbols, format the cells after you

enter the numbers.

For example, if you want to add 3100 to the value in cell A3,

and you enter the formula =SUM(3,100,A3), Excel adds the

numbers 3 and 100 and then adds that total to the value from

A3, instead of adding 3100 to A3. Or, if you enter the formula

=ABS(-2,134), Excel displays an error because the ABS

function accepts only one argument.

Top of Page

Correct common problems in formulas

You can implement certain rules to check for errors in formulas. These rules act like

a spelling checker that checks for errors in data that you enter in cells. These rules

do not guarantee that your worksheet (worksheet: The primary document that you

use in Excel to store and work with data. Also called a spreadsheet. A worksheet

consists of cells that are organized into columns and rows; a worksheet is always

stored in a workbook.) is error free, but they can go a long way toward finding

common mistakes. You can turn any of these rules on or off individually.

Errors can be marked and corrected in two ways: one error at a time (like a spelling

checker), or immediately when they occur on the worksheet as you enter data.

Either way, a triangle appears in the top-left corner of the cell when an error is

found.

Cell with a formula error

You can resolve an error by using the options that Excel displays, or you can ignore

the error by clicking Ignore Error. If you ignore an error in a particular cell, the error

in that cell does not appear in further error checks. However, you can reset all

previously ignored errors so that they appear again.
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Turn error checking rules on or off

Click the Microsoft Office Button , click Excel Options, and then click the

Formulas category.

Under Excel checking rules, select or clear the check boxes of any of the following

rules:

Cells containing formulas that result in an error The formula does not use the

expected syntax, arguments, or data types. Error values include #DIV/0!, #N/A,

#NAME?, #NULL!, #NUM!, #REF!, and #VALUE!. Each of these error values have

different causes and are resolved in different ways.

For more information about how to resolve these errors, see the links in the See

Also list.

Note If you enter an error value directly in a cell, it is stored as that error valuebut is not marked as an error. However, if a formula in another cell refers to that

cell, the formula returns the error value from that cell.

Inconsistent calculated column formula in tables A calculated column can include

formulas that are different from the column formula, which creates an exception.

Calculated column exceptions are created when you do any of the following:

Type data other than a formula in a calculated column cell.

Type a formula in a calculated column cell, and then click Undo on the QuickAccess Toolbar.

Type a new formula in a calculated column that already contains one or more

exceptions.

Copy data into the calculated column that does not match the calculated column

formula.

Note If the copied data contains a formula, this formula overwrites the data in the

calculated column.

Move or delete a cell on another worksheet area that is referenced by one of therows in a calculated column.

Cells containing years represented as 2 digits The cell contains a text date that can

be misinterpreted as the wrong century when it is used in formulas. For example,

the date in the formula =YEAR("1/1/31") could be 1931 or 2031. Use this rule to

check for ambiguous text dates.


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Numbers formatted as text or preceded by an apostrophe The cell contains

numbers stored as text. This typically occurs when data is imported from other

sources. Numbers that are stored as text can cause unexpected sorting results, so it

is best to convert them to numbers.

Formulas inconsistent with other formulas in the region The formula does notmatch the pattern of other formulas near it. In many cases, formulas that are

adjacent to other formulas differ only in the references used. In the following

example of four adjacent formulas, Excel displays an error next to the formula

=SUM(A10:F10) because the adjacent formulas increment by one row, and the

formula =SUM(A10:F10) increments by 8 rows Excel expects the formula

=SUM(A3:F3).

1

23

4

5

A

Formulas

=SUM(A1:F1)

=SUM(A2:F2

)

=SUM(A10:F

10

=SUM(A4:F4

)

If the references that are used in a formula are not consistent with those in the

adjacent formulas, Excel displays an error.

Formulas which omit cells in a region A formula may not automatically include

references to data that you insert between the original range of data and the cell

that contains the formula. This rule compares the reference in a formula against the

actual range of cells that is adjacent to the cell that contains the formula. If the

adjacent cells contain additional values and are not blank, Excel displays an error

next to the formula.

For example, Excel inserts an error next to the formula =SUM(A2:A4) when this rule

is applied, because cells A5 A6, and A7 are adjacent to the cells that are referenced

in the formula and the cell that contains the formula (A8), and those cells contain

data that should have been referenced in the formula.

1

2

3

A

Invoice

15,000

9,000


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4

5

6

7

8

8,000

20,000

5,000

22,500

=SUM(A2:

A4)

Unlocked cells containing formulas The formula is not locked for protection. By

default, all cells are locked for protection, so the cell has been set to be

unprotected. When a formula is protected, it cannot be modified without first being

unprotected. Check to make sure that you do not want the cell protected. Protecting

cells that contain formulas prevents them from being changed and can help avoid

future errors.

Formulas referring to empty cells The formula contains a reference to an empty

cell. This can cause unintended results, as shown in the following example.

Suppose you want to calculate the average of the numbers in the following column

of cells. If the third cell is blank, it is not included in the calculation and the result is

22.75. If the third cell contains 0, the result is 18.2.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

A

Data

24

12

45

10

=AVERAGE(A2:

A6)

Data entered in a table is invalid There is a validation error in a table. Check the

validation setting for the cell by clicking Data Validation in the Data Tools group on

the Data tab.

Top of Page

Correct common formula errors one at a time

Caution If the worksheet has previously been checked for errors, any errors that

were ignored will not appear until ignored errors have been reset.

Select the worksheet that you want to check for errors.


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If the worksheet is manually calculated, press F9 to recalculate now.

On the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click the Error Checking in-

group button.

The Error Checking dialog box is displayed when errors are found.

If you have previously ignored any errors, you can check for those errors again by

doing the following:

Click Options.

In the Error Checking section, click Reset Ignored Errors.

Click OK.

Click Resume.

Note Resetting ignored errors resets all errors in all sheets in the active workbook.

Position the Error Checking dialog box just below the formula bar (formula bar: A

bar at the top of the Excel window that you use to enter or edit values or formulas

in cells or charts. Displays the constant value or formula stored in the active cell.).

Click one of the action buttons in the right side of the dialog box. The available

actions differ for each type of error.

Note If you click Ignore Error, the error is marked to be ignored for each

consecutive check.

Click Next.

Continue until the error check is complete.

Top of Page

Mark common formula errors on the worksheet and correct them there
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Formulas category.

Under Error Checking, make sure that the Enable background error checking check

box is selected.

To change the color of the triangle that marks where an error occurs, in the Indicate

errors using this color box, select the color that you want.

Select a cell with a triangle in the top-left corner of a cell.

Next to the cell, click the Error Checking button that appears, and then click the

option that you want. The available commands differ for each type of error, and the

first entry describes the error.

If you click Ignore Error, the error is marked to be ignored for each consecutivecheck.

Repeat the two preceding steps.

Top of Page

Correct an error value

If a formula cannot correctly evaluate a result, Excel displays an error value, such as

#####, #DIV/0!, #N/A, #NAME?, #NULL!, #NUM!, #REF!, and #VALUE!. Each

error type has different causes, and different solutions.

The following table contains links to articles that describe these errors in detail, and

a brief description to get you started.

Link to in-depth article Description

Correct a ##### error Excel displays this error when a column is not

wide enough to display all the characters in a

cell, or a cell contains negative date or time

values.

For example, a formula that subtracts a date inthe future from a date in the past, such as

=06/15/2008-07/01/2008, results in a negative

date value.

Correct a #DIV/0! error Excel displays this error when a number is

divided either by zero (0) or by a cell that

contains no value.
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Correct a #N/A error Excel displays this error when a value is not

available to a function or formula.

Correct a #NAME? error This error is displayed when Excel does not

recognize text in a formula. For example, a range

name or the name of a function may be spelled

incorrectly.

Correct a #NULL! error Excel displays this error when you specify an

intersection of two areas that do not intersect

(cross). The intersection operator is a space

character that separates references in a formula.

For example, the areas A1:A2 and C3:C5 do not

intersect, so entering the formula =SUM(A1:A2

C3:C5) returns the #NULL! error.

Correct a #NUM! error Excel displays this error when a formula or

function contains invalid numeric values.

Correct a #REF! error Excel displays this error when when a cell

reference is not valid. For example, you may

have deleted cells that were referred to by other

formulas, or you may have pasted cells that you

moved on top of cells that were referred to by

other formulas.

Correct a #VALUE! error Excel can display this error if your formula

includes cells that contain different data types. If

smart tags are turned on and you position the

mouse pointer over the smart tag, the ScreenTip

displays "A value used in the formula is of the

wrong data type." You can typically fix this

problem by making minor changes to your

formula.

The following demo shows how to fix a #REF! error.
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Show me

Video created by Office Online staff writers

Problems watching the video?Try our troubleshooting tips.

Top of Page

Watch a formula and its result by using the Watch Window

When cells are not visible on a worksheet, you can watch

those cells and their formulas (formula: A sequence of

values, cell references, names, functions, or operators in a

cell that together produce a new value. A formula always

begins with an equal sign (=).) in the Watch Window

toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you

use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press

ALT and then SHIFT+F10.). The Watch Window makes it convenient to inspect,

audit, or confirm formula calculations and results in large worksheets. By using the

Watch Window, you don't need to repeatedly scroll or go to different parts of your

worksheet.

This toolbar can be moved or docked (docked: Fixed to the top, bottom, or side of

the window. You can dock a task pane, the toolbox, the menu bar, and all toolbars.)

like any other toolbar. For example, you can dock it on the bottom of the window.

The toolbar keeps track of the following properties of a cell: workbook, sheet, name,cell, value, and formula.

Note You can have only one watch per cell.

Add cells to the Watch Window

Select the cells that you want to watch.
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To select all cells on a worksheet with formulas, on the Home tab, in the Editing

group, click Find & Select, click Go To Special, and then click Formulas.

On the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click Watch Window.

Click Add Watch .

Click Add.

Move the Watch Window toolbar to the top, bottom, left, or right side of the window.

To change the width of a column, drag the boundary on the right side of the column

heading.

To display the cell that an entry in Watch Window toolbar refers to, double-click the

entry.

Note Cells that have external references (external reference: A reference to a cell

or range on a sheet in another Excel workbook, or a reference to a defined name in

another workbook.) to other workbooks are displayed in the Watch Window toolbar

only when the other workbooks are open.

Top of Page

Remove cells from the Watch Window

If the Watch Window toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use tocarry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.) is not

displayed, on the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click Watch Window.

Select the cells that you want to remove.

To select multiple cells, press CTRL and then click the cells.
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Click Delete Watch .

Top of Page

Evaluate a nested formula one step at a time

Sometimes, understanding how a nested formula (formula: A sequence of values,

cell references, names, functions, or operators in a cell that together produce a new

value. A formula always begins with an equal sign (=).) calculates the final result is

difficult because there are several intermediate calculations and logical tests.

However, by using the Evaluate Formula dialog box, you can see the different parts

of a nested formula evaluated in the order the formula is calculated. For example,

the formula =IF(AVERAGE(F2:F5)>50,SUM(G2:G5),0) is easier to understand when

you can see the following intermediate results:

Steps shown in the dialog box Description

=IF(AVERAGE(F2:F5)>50,SUM(G2:G5

),0)

The nested formula is initially displayed. The

AVERAGE function and the SUM function are

nested within the IF function.

=IF(40>50,SUM(G2:G5),0) The cell range F2:F5 contains the values 55,

35, 45, and 25, and so the result of the

AVERAGE(F2:F5) function is 40.

=IF(False,SUM(G2:G5),0) Because 40 is not greater than 50, the

expression in the first argument of the IF

function (the logical_test argument) is False.

0 The IF function returns the value of the third

argument (the value_if_false argument). The

SUM function is not evaluated because it is

the second argument to the IF function

(value_if_true argument), and it is returned

only when the expression is True.

Select the cell that you want to evaluate. Only one cell can be evaluated at a time.

On the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click Evaluate Formula.

Click Evaluate to examine the value of the underlined reference. The result of the

evaluation is shown in italics.
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If the underlined part of the formula is a reference to another formula, click Step In

to display the other formula in the Evaluation box. Click Step Out to go back to the

previous cell and formula.

Note The Step In button is not available for a reference the second time the

reference appears in the formula, or if the formula refers to a cell in a separateworkbook.

Continue until each part of the formula has been evaluated.

To see the evaluation again, click Restart.

To end the evaluation, click Close.

Notes

Some parts of formulas that use the IF and CHOOSE functions are not evaluated

in these cases, #N/A is displayed in the Evaluation box.

If a reference is blank, a zero value (0) is displayed in the Evaluation box.

The following functions are recalculated each time the worksheet changes, and can

cause the Evaluate Formula dialog box to give results different from what appears

in the cell: RAND, AREAS, INDEX, OFFSET, CELL, INDIRECT, ROWS, COLUMNS, NOW,

TODAY, RANDBETWEEN.

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Display the relationships between formulas and cells

Sometimes, checking formulas (formula: A sequence of values, cell

references, names, functions, or operators in a cell that together

produce a new value. A formula always begins with an equal sign

(=).) for accuracy or finding the source of an error can be difficult

when the formula uses precedent or dependent cells:

Precedent cells are cells that are referred to by a formula in another cell. For

example, if cell D10 contains the formula =B5, cell B5 is a precedent to cell D10.

Dependent cells contain formulas that refer to other cells. For example, if cell D10

contains the formula =B5, cell D10 is a dependent of cell B5.

To assist you in checking your formulas, you can use the Trace Precedents and

Trace Dependents commands to graphically display, or trace, the relationships

between these cells and formulas with tracer arrows (tracer arrows: Arrows that

show the relationship between the active cell and its related cells. Tracer arrows are

blue when pointing from a cell that provides data to another cell, and red if a cell

contains an error value, such as #DIV/0!.).
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Advanced category.

In the Display options for this workbook section, select the workbook you want, and

then make sure that All or Nothing (hide objects) is selected under For objects,show.

If formulas reference cells in another workbook, open that workbook. Excel cannot

go to a cell in a workbook that is not open.

Do one of the following:

To trace cells that provide data to a formula (precedents), do the following:

Select the cell that contains the formula for which you want to find precedent cells.

To display a tracer arrow to each cell that directly provides data to the active cell,

on the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click Trace Precedents .

Blue arrows show cells with no errors. Red arrows show cells that cause errors. If

the selected cell is referenced by a cell on another worksheet or workbook, a black

arrow points from the selected cell to a worksheet icon . The other workbook

must be open before Excel can trace these dependencies.

To identify the next level of cells that provide data to the active cell, click Trace

Precedents again.

To remove tracer arrows one level at a time, starting with the precedent cell

farthest away from the active cell, on the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing

group, click the arrow next to Remove Arrows, and then click Remove Precedent

Arrows . To remove another level of tracer arrows, click the button again.

To trace formulas that reference a particular cell (dependents), do the following:

Select the cell for which you want to identify the dependent cells.

To display a tracer arrow (tracer arrows: Arrows that show the relationship between

the active cell and its related cells. Tracer arrows are blue when pointing from a cell

that provides data to another cell, and red if a cell contains an error value, such as

#DIV/0!.) to each cell that is dependent on the active cell, on the Formulas tab, in

the Formula Auditing group, click Trace Dependents .
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Blue arrows show cells with no errors. Red arrows show cells that cause errors. If

the selected cell is referenced by a cell on another worksheet or workbook, a black

arrow points from the selected cell to a worksheet icon . The other workbook

must be open before Excel can trace these dependencies.

To identify the next level of cells that depend on the active cell, click Trace

Dependents again.

To remove tracer arrows one level at a time, starting with the dependent cell

farthest away from the active cell, on the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing

group, click the arrow next to Remove Arrows, and then click Remove Dependent

Arrows . To remove another level of tracer arrows, click the button again.

To remove all tracer arrows (tracer arrows: Arrows that show the relationshipbetween the active cell and its related cells. Tracer arrows are blue when pointing

from a cell that provides data to another cell, and red if a cell contains an error

value, such as #DIV/0!.) on the worksheet, on the Formulas tab, in the Formula

Auditing group, click Remove Arrows .

To see all the relationships on a worksheet, do the following:

In an empty cell, type = (equal sign).

Click the Select All button.

Select the cell, and on the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click Trace

Precedents twice.

If Excel beeps when you click Trace Dependents or Trace Precedents , either

Excel has traced all levels of the formula, or you are attempting to trace an item

that cannot be traced. The following items on worksheets that can be referenced by

formulas cannot be traced by using the auditing tools:

References to text boxes, embedded charts (embedded chart: A chart that is placed

on a worksheet rather than on a separate chart sheet. Embedded charts are
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beneficial when you want to view or print a chart or a PivotChart report with its

source data or other information in a worksheet.), or pictures on worksheets

PivotTable reports (PivotTable report: An interactive, crosstabulated Excel report

that summarizes and analyzes data, such as database records, from various

sources, including ones that are external to Excel.)

References to named constants (constant: A value that is not calculated and,

therefore, does not change. For example, the number 210, and the text "Quarterly

Earnings" are constants. An expression, or a value resulting from an expression, is

not a constant.)

Formulas located in another workbook that refer to the active cell if the other

workbook is closed

Notes

To see the color-coded precedents for the arguments in a formula, select a cell andpress F2.

To select the cell at the other end of an arrow, double-click the arrow. If the cell is in

another worksheet or workbook, double-click the black arrow to display the Go To

dialog box, and then double-click the reference you want in the Go to list.

All tracer arrows disappear if you change the formula the arrows point to, insert or

delete columns or rows, or delete or move cells. To restore the tracer arrows after

making any of these changes, you must use auditing commands on the worksheet

again. To keep track of the original tracer arrows, print the worksheet with the

tracer arrows displayed before you make the changes.

Top of Page

Related Office Online discussions

Read related questions and answers from other Microsoft Office customers.

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See Also

Correct a #DIV/0! error
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Correct a #NAME? error

Correct a #NUM! error

Correct a #REF! error

Correct a #VALUE! error

Demo: Create formulas with Formula AutoComplete

Examples of commonly used formulas

Get to know Excel 2007: Enter formulas

Overview of formulas

Remove or allow a circular reference

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