8/21/23, 3:24 PM Formula Auditing in Excel (In Easy Steps)

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Trace Precedents | Remove Arrows | Trace Dependents | Show Formulas
Chapter
| Error Checking | Evaluate Formula
Formula Errors
Formula auditing in Excel allows you to display the relationship
between formulas and cells. The example below helps you master
Learn more, it's
Formula Auditing quickly and easily.

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IfError

IsError

Aggregate

Circular Reference

Formula Auditing

Floating Point Errors

IFNA

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File
formula-auditing.xlsx

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Trace Precedents Array Formulas
You have to pay $96.00. To show arrows that indicate which cells are
used to calculate this value, execute the following steps.
Follow Excel
1. Select cell C13.
Easy
2. On the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click Trace
Precedents. Become an Excel
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8/21/23, 3:24 PM Formula Auditing in Excel (In Easy Steps)

Result:

As expected, Total cost and Group size are used to calculate the Cost
per person.

3. Click Trace Precedents again.

As expected, the different costs are used to calculate the Total cost.

Remove Arrows
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8/21/23, 3:24 PM Formula Auditing in Excel (In Easy Steps)

To remove the arrows, execute the following steps.

1. On the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click Remove

Trace Dependents
To show arrows that indicate which cells depend on a selected cell,
execute the following steps.

1. Select cell C12.

2. On the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click Trace

Result:

As expected, the Cost per person depends on the Group size.

Show Formulas
By default, Excel shows the results of formulas. To show the formulas
instead of their results, execute the following steps.

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8/21/23, 3:24 PM Formula Auditing in Excel (In Easy Steps)

1. On the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click Show

Result:

Note: instead of clicking Show Formulas, press CTRL + ` (you can find
this key above the tab key).

Error Checking
To check for common errors that occur in formulas, execute the
following steps.

1. Enter the value 0 into cell C12.

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8/21/23, 3:24 PM Formula Auditing in Excel (In Easy Steps)

2. On the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click Error

Result. Excel finds an error in cell C13. The formula tries to divide a
number by 0.

Evaluate Formula
To debug a formula by evaluating each part of the formula individually,
execute the following steps.

1. Select cell C13.

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

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8/21/23, 3:24 PM Formula Auditing in Excel (In Easy Steps)

3. Click Evaluate four times.

Excel shows the formula result.

6/8 Completed! Learn much more about formula errors >

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8/21/23, 3:24 PM Formula Auditing in Excel (In Easy Steps)

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