MS-Excel / Functions and Formula

Finding which formula(s) a cell can change

Sometimes you may be curious how a particular cell might affect a formula stored in your worksheet. Although you could just type a new value in that cell and look for any changes, it's easier (and more accurate) to identify all formulas that are dependent on a particular cell.

Any formula that receives data is a dependent.

To find one or more formulas that a single cell might affect, follow these steps:

  1. Click any cell that contains data (not a formula).
  2. Click the Formulas tab.
  3. Click Trace Dependents.
    Excel draws an arrow that points to a cell that contains a formula. This tells you that if you change the data in the cell you chose in Step 1, it will change the calculated result in the cell containing a formula.
  4. Click the Remove Arrows icon in the Formula Auditing group to make the arrows go away.
[Previous] [Contents] [Next]