How to tell if an Excel cell has a formula or is hardcoded?












16















Does anyone have a special tip (non-VBA strongly preferred) to tell systematically if a cell has a hardcoded value or is a derived formula?



Am dealing with some data that has messy subtotals embedded in it and am trying to see if I can separate out the raw lines.










share|improve this question

























  • Does the "Show Formulas" mode (Ctrl + `) help?

    – sblair
    Nov 22 '11 at 18:56













  • It does, but I wouldn't consider it "systematic" - requires me to hand-blast away the subtotal lines.

    – YGA
    Nov 22 '11 at 19:51
















16















Does anyone have a special tip (non-VBA strongly preferred) to tell systematically if a cell has a hardcoded value or is a derived formula?



Am dealing with some data that has messy subtotals embedded in it and am trying to see if I can separate out the raw lines.










share|improve this question

























  • Does the "Show Formulas" mode (Ctrl + `) help?

    – sblair
    Nov 22 '11 at 18:56













  • It does, but I wouldn't consider it "systematic" - requires me to hand-blast away the subtotal lines.

    – YGA
    Nov 22 '11 at 19:51














16












16








16


1






Does anyone have a special tip (non-VBA strongly preferred) to tell systematically if a cell has a hardcoded value or is a derived formula?



Am dealing with some data that has messy subtotals embedded in it and am trying to see if I can separate out the raw lines.










share|improve this question
















Does anyone have a special tip (non-VBA strongly preferred) to tell systematically if a cell has a hardcoded value or is a derived formula?



Am dealing with some data that has messy subtotals embedded in it and am trying to see if I can separate out the raw lines.







microsoft-excel






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Nov 22 '11 at 18:57









sblair

11.4k64068




11.4k64068










asked Nov 22 '11 at 18:00









YGAYGA

68961322




68961322













  • Does the "Show Formulas" mode (Ctrl + `) help?

    – sblair
    Nov 22 '11 at 18:56













  • It does, but I wouldn't consider it "systematic" - requires me to hand-blast away the subtotal lines.

    – YGA
    Nov 22 '11 at 19:51



















  • Does the "Show Formulas" mode (Ctrl + `) help?

    – sblair
    Nov 22 '11 at 18:56













  • It does, but I wouldn't consider it "systematic" - requires me to hand-blast away the subtotal lines.

    – YGA
    Nov 22 '11 at 19:51

















Does the "Show Formulas" mode (Ctrl + `) help?

– sblair
Nov 22 '11 at 18:56







Does the "Show Formulas" mode (Ctrl + `) help?

– sblair
Nov 22 '11 at 18:56















It does, but I wouldn't consider it "systematic" - requires me to hand-blast away the subtotal lines.

– YGA
Nov 22 '11 at 19:51





It does, but I wouldn't consider it "systematic" - requires me to hand-blast away the subtotal lines.

– YGA
Nov 22 '11 at 19:51










9 Answers
9






active

oldest

votes


















7














Use Conditional formatting. Choose the "Use a formula to determine which cells to format" option and type " =NOT(Cellhasformula) ". This will format anything that is hardcoded.






share|improve this answer



















  • 7





    So this wasn't the full answer but it's actually quite elegant. The full answer is on: j-walk.com/ss/excel/usertips/tip045.htm The key is that you 1st need to create a name (via Formulas -> Name Manager) called "Cellhasformula" that "refers to" the mystical formula =GET.CELL(48,INDIRECT("rc",FALSE)). As the link says, the formula uses GET.CELL, which is in the XLM macro language (VBA's predecessor) and can't be used directly in a worksheet. The "48" arg makes GET.CELL return 'True' if the cell has a formula. The INDIRECT basically creates a ref to each cell in the selected range.

    – YGA
    Oct 10 '13 at 22:07













  • I've edited the answer to include those details. Thanks @YGA

    – Alain
    Apr 30 '18 at 14:57



















14














Select the cells in question, press Ctrl+G and then select Special to get the following dialog box:



Go To Special dialog box



Then specify the type of cells you want and click OK and only those types of cells will remain selected.






share|improve this answer































    8














    As of Excel 2013, you can do:



    =ISFORMULA(reference)


    Here the complete documentation






    share|improve this answer































      3














      =iferror(Formulatext(cell),"Not Formula")


      or to show only the formulas:



      =iferror(Formulatext(cell),"")





      share|improve this answer


























      • For anyone using LibreOffice Calc instead of Excel, replace formulatext() with formula().

        – fixer1234
        Mar 31 '15 at 7:51





















      2














      Two other methods are to




      1. Use a mapping tool such as my Mappit! addin (which can be run as a trusted addin)

      2. You can use the very useful XLM / Range Names workaround which offers an real time colouring of hardcoded cells, formulae, linked cells etc. This doesn't require any programming knowledge to deploy unlike VBA






      share|improve this answer































        1














        I know you said non-VBA preferred, but if you end up with no other solutions, the Range object has a HasFormula property.



        Returns: True if all cells in the range contain formulas; False if none of the cells in the range contains a formula; null otherwise.



        Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb208626%28v=office.12%29.aspx






        share|improve this answer































          1














          If you want to store the Excel file in a macro-free workbook format, you should avoid both VBA and macros (i.e. the XL4/XLM approaches suggested in other answers). In this answer, I made the assumption of a macro-free Excel file.



          If you use MS-Excel 2013, you can use:



          =ISFORMULA(reference)


          If you use older MS-Excel versions (e.g. 2010, 2007), there is no true function to determine if a cell contains a formula. However, you can approximate it using:



          =IF(OR(ISBLANK(reference);CELL("prefix";reference)<>"");FALSE;IF(CELL("type";reference)="l";TRUE;"MAYBE"))


          The function above returns:




          • TRUE for cells containing a formula wich results in a String data.

          • FALSE for cells containing a String literal or is blank.

          • "MAYBE" for cells containing a boolean, a number or a date, no matter if this value is literal or the result of a formula.






          share|improve this answer

































            1














            Well past the original date, but if it's of use to anyone, I managed to get around this by selecting the range of cells, then using Replace (Ctrl+H), setting it to 'Look in' "Formulas" and replace an equals = with an apostrophe-equals '=



            This brought out all the formulas, but obviously would also convert things like if $C$1 contained =if($A1=$B1,"Match","Different") to '=if($A1'=$B1,"Match","Different")



            Notice the A1'=B1 in the middle of the formula which may be problematic, but still means you get to see the formulas, albeit non-pragmatically. Could use the SUBSTITUTE function to change it back, so $D$1 contains =SUBSTITUTE(C1,"'=","="), then just copy out to Notepad and paste back into $E$1



            The other way would be to 'show formulas' but that would show formulas for every cell, not just a selected range.






            share|improve this answer































              1














              Function is_formula(c As Range) As Boolean
              is_formula = Left(c.Formula, 1) = "="
              End Function





              share|improve this answer
























              • Can you add s short explanation to tell us what is going on here? :)

                – bertieb
                Apr 20 '17 at 14:20











              • Just stick it in a VBA module, although I realize now the OP didn't want VBA. But anyway, that's why I use.

                – George Skelton
                Apr 20 '17 at 17:31











              • That's not really an explanation

                – bertieb
                Apr 20 '17 at 18:41











              Your Answer








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              9 Answers
              9






              active

              oldest

              votes








              9 Answers
              9






              active

              oldest

              votes









              active

              oldest

              votes






              active

              oldest

              votes









              7














              Use Conditional formatting. Choose the "Use a formula to determine which cells to format" option and type " =NOT(Cellhasformula) ". This will format anything that is hardcoded.






              share|improve this answer



















              • 7





                So this wasn't the full answer but it's actually quite elegant. The full answer is on: j-walk.com/ss/excel/usertips/tip045.htm The key is that you 1st need to create a name (via Formulas -> Name Manager) called "Cellhasformula" that "refers to" the mystical formula =GET.CELL(48,INDIRECT("rc",FALSE)). As the link says, the formula uses GET.CELL, which is in the XLM macro language (VBA's predecessor) and can't be used directly in a worksheet. The "48" arg makes GET.CELL return 'True' if the cell has a formula. The INDIRECT basically creates a ref to each cell in the selected range.

                – YGA
                Oct 10 '13 at 22:07













              • I've edited the answer to include those details. Thanks @YGA

                – Alain
                Apr 30 '18 at 14:57
















              7














              Use Conditional formatting. Choose the "Use a formula to determine which cells to format" option and type " =NOT(Cellhasformula) ". This will format anything that is hardcoded.






              share|improve this answer



















              • 7





                So this wasn't the full answer but it's actually quite elegant. The full answer is on: j-walk.com/ss/excel/usertips/tip045.htm The key is that you 1st need to create a name (via Formulas -> Name Manager) called "Cellhasformula" that "refers to" the mystical formula =GET.CELL(48,INDIRECT("rc",FALSE)). As the link says, the formula uses GET.CELL, which is in the XLM macro language (VBA's predecessor) and can't be used directly in a worksheet. The "48" arg makes GET.CELL return 'True' if the cell has a formula. The INDIRECT basically creates a ref to each cell in the selected range.

                – YGA
                Oct 10 '13 at 22:07













              • I've edited the answer to include those details. Thanks @YGA

                – Alain
                Apr 30 '18 at 14:57














              7












              7








              7







              Use Conditional formatting. Choose the "Use a formula to determine which cells to format" option and type " =NOT(Cellhasformula) ". This will format anything that is hardcoded.






              share|improve this answer













              Use Conditional formatting. Choose the "Use a formula to determine which cells to format" option and type " =NOT(Cellhasformula) ". This will format anything that is hardcoded.







              share|improve this answer












              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer










              answered Mar 28 '13 at 0:53









              StephenStephen

              8611




              8611








              • 7





                So this wasn't the full answer but it's actually quite elegant. The full answer is on: j-walk.com/ss/excel/usertips/tip045.htm The key is that you 1st need to create a name (via Formulas -> Name Manager) called "Cellhasformula" that "refers to" the mystical formula =GET.CELL(48,INDIRECT("rc",FALSE)). As the link says, the formula uses GET.CELL, which is in the XLM macro language (VBA's predecessor) and can't be used directly in a worksheet. The "48" arg makes GET.CELL return 'True' if the cell has a formula. The INDIRECT basically creates a ref to each cell in the selected range.

                – YGA
                Oct 10 '13 at 22:07













              • I've edited the answer to include those details. Thanks @YGA

                – Alain
                Apr 30 '18 at 14:57














              • 7





                So this wasn't the full answer but it's actually quite elegant. The full answer is on: j-walk.com/ss/excel/usertips/tip045.htm The key is that you 1st need to create a name (via Formulas -> Name Manager) called "Cellhasformula" that "refers to" the mystical formula =GET.CELL(48,INDIRECT("rc",FALSE)). As the link says, the formula uses GET.CELL, which is in the XLM macro language (VBA's predecessor) and can't be used directly in a worksheet. The "48" arg makes GET.CELL return 'True' if the cell has a formula. The INDIRECT basically creates a ref to each cell in the selected range.

                – YGA
                Oct 10 '13 at 22:07













              • I've edited the answer to include those details. Thanks @YGA

                – Alain
                Apr 30 '18 at 14:57








              7




              7





              So this wasn't the full answer but it's actually quite elegant. The full answer is on: j-walk.com/ss/excel/usertips/tip045.htm The key is that you 1st need to create a name (via Formulas -> Name Manager) called "Cellhasformula" that "refers to" the mystical formula =GET.CELL(48,INDIRECT("rc",FALSE)). As the link says, the formula uses GET.CELL, which is in the XLM macro language (VBA's predecessor) and can't be used directly in a worksheet. The "48" arg makes GET.CELL return 'True' if the cell has a formula. The INDIRECT basically creates a ref to each cell in the selected range.

              – YGA
              Oct 10 '13 at 22:07







              So this wasn't the full answer but it's actually quite elegant. The full answer is on: j-walk.com/ss/excel/usertips/tip045.htm The key is that you 1st need to create a name (via Formulas -> Name Manager) called "Cellhasformula" that "refers to" the mystical formula =GET.CELL(48,INDIRECT("rc",FALSE)). As the link says, the formula uses GET.CELL, which is in the XLM macro language (VBA's predecessor) and can't be used directly in a worksheet. The "48" arg makes GET.CELL return 'True' if the cell has a formula. The INDIRECT basically creates a ref to each cell in the selected range.

              – YGA
              Oct 10 '13 at 22:07















              I've edited the answer to include those details. Thanks @YGA

              – Alain
              Apr 30 '18 at 14:57





              I've edited the answer to include those details. Thanks @YGA

              – Alain
              Apr 30 '18 at 14:57













              14














              Select the cells in question, press Ctrl+G and then select Special to get the following dialog box:



              Go To Special dialog box



              Then specify the type of cells you want and click OK and only those types of cells will remain selected.






              share|improve this answer




























                14














                Select the cells in question, press Ctrl+G and then select Special to get the following dialog box:



                Go To Special dialog box



                Then specify the type of cells you want and click OK and only those types of cells will remain selected.






                share|improve this answer


























                  14












                  14








                  14







                  Select the cells in question, press Ctrl+G and then select Special to get the following dialog box:



                  Go To Special dialog box



                  Then specify the type of cells you want and click OK and only those types of cells will remain selected.






                  share|improve this answer













                  Select the cells in question, press Ctrl+G and then select Special to get the following dialog box:



                  Go To Special dialog box



                  Then specify the type of cells you want and click OK and only those types of cells will remain selected.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered Nov 22 '11 at 23:48









                  Mike FitzpatrickMike Fitzpatrick

                  14.5k33540




                  14.5k33540























                      8














                      As of Excel 2013, you can do:



                      =ISFORMULA(reference)


                      Here the complete documentation






                      share|improve this answer




























                        8














                        As of Excel 2013, you can do:



                        =ISFORMULA(reference)


                        Here the complete documentation






                        share|improve this answer


























                          8












                          8








                          8







                          As of Excel 2013, you can do:



                          =ISFORMULA(reference)


                          Here the complete documentation






                          share|improve this answer













                          As of Excel 2013, you can do:



                          =ISFORMULA(reference)


                          Here the complete documentation







                          share|improve this answer












                          share|improve this answer



                          share|improve this answer










                          answered Feb 8 '16 at 19:40









                          David K.David K.

                          8111




                          8111























                              3














                              =iferror(Formulatext(cell),"Not Formula")


                              or to show only the formulas:



                              =iferror(Formulatext(cell),"")





                              share|improve this answer


























                              • For anyone using LibreOffice Calc instead of Excel, replace formulatext() with formula().

                                – fixer1234
                                Mar 31 '15 at 7:51


















                              3














                              =iferror(Formulatext(cell),"Not Formula")


                              or to show only the formulas:



                              =iferror(Formulatext(cell),"")





                              share|improve this answer


























                              • For anyone using LibreOffice Calc instead of Excel, replace formulatext() with formula().

                                – fixer1234
                                Mar 31 '15 at 7:51
















                              3












                              3








                              3







                              =iferror(Formulatext(cell),"Not Formula")


                              or to show only the formulas:



                              =iferror(Formulatext(cell),"")





                              share|improve this answer















                              =iferror(Formulatext(cell),"Not Formula")


                              or to show only the formulas:



                              =iferror(Formulatext(cell),"")






                              share|improve this answer














                              share|improve this answer



                              share|improve this answer








                              edited Mar 31 '15 at 15:14









                              fixer1234

                              19k144982




                              19k144982










                              answered Mar 31 '15 at 7:37









                              JackJack

                              311




                              311













                              • For anyone using LibreOffice Calc instead of Excel, replace formulatext() with formula().

                                – fixer1234
                                Mar 31 '15 at 7:51





















                              • For anyone using LibreOffice Calc instead of Excel, replace formulatext() with formula().

                                – fixer1234
                                Mar 31 '15 at 7:51



















                              For anyone using LibreOffice Calc instead of Excel, replace formulatext() with formula().

                              – fixer1234
                              Mar 31 '15 at 7:51







                              For anyone using LibreOffice Calc instead of Excel, replace formulatext() with formula().

                              – fixer1234
                              Mar 31 '15 at 7:51













                              2














                              Two other methods are to




                              1. Use a mapping tool such as my Mappit! addin (which can be run as a trusted addin)

                              2. You can use the very useful XLM / Range Names workaround which offers an real time colouring of hardcoded cells, formulae, linked cells etc. This doesn't require any programming knowledge to deploy unlike VBA






                              share|improve this answer




























                                2














                                Two other methods are to




                                1. Use a mapping tool such as my Mappit! addin (which can be run as a trusted addin)

                                2. You can use the very useful XLM / Range Names workaround which offers an real time colouring of hardcoded cells, formulae, linked cells etc. This doesn't require any programming knowledge to deploy unlike VBA






                                share|improve this answer


























                                  2












                                  2








                                  2







                                  Two other methods are to




                                  1. Use a mapping tool such as my Mappit! addin (which can be run as a trusted addin)

                                  2. You can use the very useful XLM / Range Names workaround which offers an real time colouring of hardcoded cells, formulae, linked cells etc. This doesn't require any programming knowledge to deploy unlike VBA






                                  share|improve this answer













                                  Two other methods are to




                                  1. Use a mapping tool such as my Mappit! addin (which can be run as a trusted addin)

                                  2. You can use the very useful XLM / Range Names workaround which offers an real time colouring of hardcoded cells, formulae, linked cells etc. This doesn't require any programming knowledge to deploy unlike VBA







                                  share|improve this answer












                                  share|improve this answer



                                  share|improve this answer










                                  answered Nov 23 '11 at 9:59









                                  brettdjbrettdj

                                  1,7271622




                                  1,7271622























                                      1














                                      I know you said non-VBA preferred, but if you end up with no other solutions, the Range object has a HasFormula property.



                                      Returns: True if all cells in the range contain formulas; False if none of the cells in the range contains a formula; null otherwise.



                                      Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb208626%28v=office.12%29.aspx






                                      share|improve this answer




























                                        1














                                        I know you said non-VBA preferred, but if you end up with no other solutions, the Range object has a HasFormula property.



                                        Returns: True if all cells in the range contain formulas; False if none of the cells in the range contains a formula; null otherwise.



                                        Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb208626%28v=office.12%29.aspx






                                        share|improve this answer


























                                          1












                                          1








                                          1







                                          I know you said non-VBA preferred, but if you end up with no other solutions, the Range object has a HasFormula property.



                                          Returns: True if all cells in the range contain formulas; False if none of the cells in the range contains a formula; null otherwise.



                                          Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb208626%28v=office.12%29.aspx






                                          share|improve this answer













                                          I know you said non-VBA preferred, but if you end up with no other solutions, the Range object has a HasFormula property.



                                          Returns: True if all cells in the range contain formulas; False if none of the cells in the range contains a formula; null otherwise.



                                          Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb208626%28v=office.12%29.aspx







                                          share|improve this answer












                                          share|improve this answer



                                          share|improve this answer










                                          answered Nov 22 '11 at 19:12









                                          Patrick SeymourPatrick Seymour

                                          7,4022131




                                          7,4022131























                                              1














                                              If you want to store the Excel file in a macro-free workbook format, you should avoid both VBA and macros (i.e. the XL4/XLM approaches suggested in other answers). In this answer, I made the assumption of a macro-free Excel file.



                                              If you use MS-Excel 2013, you can use:



                                              =ISFORMULA(reference)


                                              If you use older MS-Excel versions (e.g. 2010, 2007), there is no true function to determine if a cell contains a formula. However, you can approximate it using:



                                              =IF(OR(ISBLANK(reference);CELL("prefix";reference)<>"");FALSE;IF(CELL("type";reference)="l";TRUE;"MAYBE"))


                                              The function above returns:




                                              • TRUE for cells containing a formula wich results in a String data.

                                              • FALSE for cells containing a String literal or is blank.

                                              • "MAYBE" for cells containing a boolean, a number or a date, no matter if this value is literal or the result of a formula.






                                              share|improve this answer






























                                                1














                                                If you want to store the Excel file in a macro-free workbook format, you should avoid both VBA and macros (i.e. the XL4/XLM approaches suggested in other answers). In this answer, I made the assumption of a macro-free Excel file.



                                                If you use MS-Excel 2013, you can use:



                                                =ISFORMULA(reference)


                                                If you use older MS-Excel versions (e.g. 2010, 2007), there is no true function to determine if a cell contains a formula. However, you can approximate it using:



                                                =IF(OR(ISBLANK(reference);CELL("prefix";reference)<>"");FALSE;IF(CELL("type";reference)="l";TRUE;"MAYBE"))


                                                The function above returns:




                                                • TRUE for cells containing a formula wich results in a String data.

                                                • FALSE for cells containing a String literal or is blank.

                                                • "MAYBE" for cells containing a boolean, a number or a date, no matter if this value is literal or the result of a formula.






                                                share|improve this answer




























                                                  1












                                                  1








                                                  1







                                                  If you want to store the Excel file in a macro-free workbook format, you should avoid both VBA and macros (i.e. the XL4/XLM approaches suggested in other answers). In this answer, I made the assumption of a macro-free Excel file.



                                                  If you use MS-Excel 2013, you can use:



                                                  =ISFORMULA(reference)


                                                  If you use older MS-Excel versions (e.g. 2010, 2007), there is no true function to determine if a cell contains a formula. However, you can approximate it using:



                                                  =IF(OR(ISBLANK(reference);CELL("prefix";reference)<>"");FALSE;IF(CELL("type";reference)="l";TRUE;"MAYBE"))


                                                  The function above returns:




                                                  • TRUE for cells containing a formula wich results in a String data.

                                                  • FALSE for cells containing a String literal or is blank.

                                                  • "MAYBE" for cells containing a boolean, a number or a date, no matter if this value is literal or the result of a formula.






                                                  share|improve this answer















                                                  If you want to store the Excel file in a macro-free workbook format, you should avoid both VBA and macros (i.e. the XL4/XLM approaches suggested in other answers). In this answer, I made the assumption of a macro-free Excel file.



                                                  If you use MS-Excel 2013, you can use:



                                                  =ISFORMULA(reference)


                                                  If you use older MS-Excel versions (e.g. 2010, 2007), there is no true function to determine if a cell contains a formula. However, you can approximate it using:



                                                  =IF(OR(ISBLANK(reference);CELL("prefix";reference)<>"");FALSE;IF(CELL("type";reference)="l";TRUE;"MAYBE"))


                                                  The function above returns:




                                                  • TRUE for cells containing a formula wich results in a String data.

                                                  • FALSE for cells containing a String literal or is blank.

                                                  • "MAYBE" for cells containing a boolean, a number or a date, no matter if this value is literal or the result of a formula.







                                                  share|improve this answer














                                                  share|improve this answer



                                                  share|improve this answer








                                                  edited Dec 17 '14 at 14:56

























                                                  answered Dec 17 '14 at 14:46









                                                  Julien KroneggJulien Kronegg

                                                  1113




                                                  1113























                                                      1














                                                      Well past the original date, but if it's of use to anyone, I managed to get around this by selecting the range of cells, then using Replace (Ctrl+H), setting it to 'Look in' "Formulas" and replace an equals = with an apostrophe-equals '=



                                                      This brought out all the formulas, but obviously would also convert things like if $C$1 contained =if($A1=$B1,"Match","Different") to '=if($A1'=$B1,"Match","Different")



                                                      Notice the A1'=B1 in the middle of the formula which may be problematic, but still means you get to see the formulas, albeit non-pragmatically. Could use the SUBSTITUTE function to change it back, so $D$1 contains =SUBSTITUTE(C1,"'=","="), then just copy out to Notepad and paste back into $E$1



                                                      The other way would be to 'show formulas' but that would show formulas for every cell, not just a selected range.






                                                      share|improve this answer




























                                                        1














                                                        Well past the original date, but if it's of use to anyone, I managed to get around this by selecting the range of cells, then using Replace (Ctrl+H), setting it to 'Look in' "Formulas" and replace an equals = with an apostrophe-equals '=



                                                        This brought out all the formulas, but obviously would also convert things like if $C$1 contained =if($A1=$B1,"Match","Different") to '=if($A1'=$B1,"Match","Different")



                                                        Notice the A1'=B1 in the middle of the formula which may be problematic, but still means you get to see the formulas, albeit non-pragmatically. Could use the SUBSTITUTE function to change it back, so $D$1 contains =SUBSTITUTE(C1,"'=","="), then just copy out to Notepad and paste back into $E$1



                                                        The other way would be to 'show formulas' but that would show formulas for every cell, not just a selected range.






                                                        share|improve this answer


























                                                          1












                                                          1








                                                          1







                                                          Well past the original date, but if it's of use to anyone, I managed to get around this by selecting the range of cells, then using Replace (Ctrl+H), setting it to 'Look in' "Formulas" and replace an equals = with an apostrophe-equals '=



                                                          This brought out all the formulas, but obviously would also convert things like if $C$1 contained =if($A1=$B1,"Match","Different") to '=if($A1'=$B1,"Match","Different")



                                                          Notice the A1'=B1 in the middle of the formula which may be problematic, but still means you get to see the formulas, albeit non-pragmatically. Could use the SUBSTITUTE function to change it back, so $D$1 contains =SUBSTITUTE(C1,"'=","="), then just copy out to Notepad and paste back into $E$1



                                                          The other way would be to 'show formulas' but that would show formulas for every cell, not just a selected range.






                                                          share|improve this answer













                                                          Well past the original date, but if it's of use to anyone, I managed to get around this by selecting the range of cells, then using Replace (Ctrl+H), setting it to 'Look in' "Formulas" and replace an equals = with an apostrophe-equals '=



                                                          This brought out all the formulas, but obviously would also convert things like if $C$1 contained =if($A1=$B1,"Match","Different") to '=if($A1'=$B1,"Match","Different")



                                                          Notice the A1'=B1 in the middle of the formula which may be problematic, but still means you get to see the formulas, albeit non-pragmatically. Could use the SUBSTITUTE function to change it back, so $D$1 contains =SUBSTITUTE(C1,"'=","="), then just copy out to Notepad and paste back into $E$1



                                                          The other way would be to 'show formulas' but that would show formulas for every cell, not just a selected range.







                                                          share|improve this answer












                                                          share|improve this answer



                                                          share|improve this answer










                                                          answered Apr 6 '17 at 17:53









                                                          AubsAubs

                                                          363




                                                          363























                                                              1














                                                              Function is_formula(c As Range) As Boolean
                                                              is_formula = Left(c.Formula, 1) = "="
                                                              End Function





                                                              share|improve this answer
























                                                              • Can you add s short explanation to tell us what is going on here? :)

                                                                – bertieb
                                                                Apr 20 '17 at 14:20











                                                              • Just stick it in a VBA module, although I realize now the OP didn't want VBA. But anyway, that's why I use.

                                                                – George Skelton
                                                                Apr 20 '17 at 17:31











                                                              • That's not really an explanation

                                                                – bertieb
                                                                Apr 20 '17 at 18:41
















                                                              1














                                                              Function is_formula(c As Range) As Boolean
                                                              is_formula = Left(c.Formula, 1) = "="
                                                              End Function





                                                              share|improve this answer
























                                                              • Can you add s short explanation to tell us what is going on here? :)

                                                                – bertieb
                                                                Apr 20 '17 at 14:20











                                                              • Just stick it in a VBA module, although I realize now the OP didn't want VBA. But anyway, that's why I use.

                                                                – George Skelton
                                                                Apr 20 '17 at 17:31











                                                              • That's not really an explanation

                                                                – bertieb
                                                                Apr 20 '17 at 18:41














                                                              1












                                                              1








                                                              1







                                                              Function is_formula(c As Range) As Boolean
                                                              is_formula = Left(c.Formula, 1) = "="
                                                              End Function





                                                              share|improve this answer













                                                              Function is_formula(c As Range) As Boolean
                                                              is_formula = Left(c.Formula, 1) = "="
                                                              End Function






                                                              share|improve this answer












                                                              share|improve this answer



                                                              share|improve this answer










                                                              answered Apr 20 '17 at 13:57









                                                              George SkeltonGeorge Skelton

                                                              1111




                                                              1111













                                                              • Can you add s short explanation to tell us what is going on here? :)

                                                                – bertieb
                                                                Apr 20 '17 at 14:20











                                                              • Just stick it in a VBA module, although I realize now the OP didn't want VBA. But anyway, that's why I use.

                                                                – George Skelton
                                                                Apr 20 '17 at 17:31











                                                              • That's not really an explanation

                                                                – bertieb
                                                                Apr 20 '17 at 18:41



















                                                              • Can you add s short explanation to tell us what is going on here? :)

                                                                – bertieb
                                                                Apr 20 '17 at 14:20











                                                              • Just stick it in a VBA module, although I realize now the OP didn't want VBA. But anyway, that's why I use.

                                                                – George Skelton
                                                                Apr 20 '17 at 17:31











                                                              • That's not really an explanation

                                                                – bertieb
                                                                Apr 20 '17 at 18:41

















                                                              Can you add s short explanation to tell us what is going on here? :)

                                                              – bertieb
                                                              Apr 20 '17 at 14:20





                                                              Can you add s short explanation to tell us what is going on here? :)

                                                              – bertieb
                                                              Apr 20 '17 at 14:20













                                                              Just stick it in a VBA module, although I realize now the OP didn't want VBA. But anyway, that's why I use.

                                                              – George Skelton
                                                              Apr 20 '17 at 17:31





                                                              Just stick it in a VBA module, although I realize now the OP didn't want VBA. But anyway, that's why I use.

                                                              – George Skelton
                                                              Apr 20 '17 at 17:31













                                                              That's not really an explanation

                                                              – bertieb
                                                              Apr 20 '17 at 18:41





                                                              That's not really an explanation

                                                              – bertieb
                                                              Apr 20 '17 at 18:41


















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