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








              StackExchange.ready(function() {
              var channelOptions = {
              tags: "".split(" "),
              id: "3"
              };
              initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

              StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
              // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
              if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
              StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
              createEditor();
              });
              }
              else {
              createEditor();
              }
              });

              function createEditor() {
              StackExchange.prepareEditor({
              heartbeatType: 'answer',
              autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
              convertImagesToLinks: true,
              noModals: true,
              showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
              reputationToPostImages: 10,
              bindNavPrevention: true,
              postfix: "",
              imageUploader: {
              brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
              contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
              allowUrls: true
              },
              onDemand: true,
              discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
              ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
              });


              }
              });














              draft saved

              draft discarded


















              StackExchange.ready(
              function () {
              StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fsuperuser.com%2fquestions%2f360369%2fhow-to-tell-if-an-excel-cell-has-a-formula-or-is-hardcoded%23new-answer', 'question_page');
              }
              );

              Post as a guest















              Required, but never shown

























              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


















                                                              draft saved

                                                              draft discarded




















































                                                              Thanks for contributing an answer to Super User!


                                                              • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                                                              But avoid



                                                              • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                                                              • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                                                              To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                                                              draft saved


                                                              draft discarded














                                                              StackExchange.ready(
                                                              function () {
                                                              StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fsuperuser.com%2fquestions%2f360369%2fhow-to-tell-if-an-excel-cell-has-a-formula-or-is-hardcoded%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                                                              }
                                                              );

                                                              Post as a guest















                                                              Required, but never shown





















































                                                              Required, but never shown














                                                              Required, but never shown












                                                              Required, but never shown







                                                              Required, but never shown

































                                                              Required, but never shown














                                                              Required, but never shown












                                                              Required, but never shown







                                                              Required, but never shown







                                                              Popular posts from this blog

                                                              Probability when a professor distributes a quiz and homework assignment to a class of n students.

                                                              Aardman Animations

                                                              Are they similar matrix