Forum Discussion
Formulas displaying as text
Can anyone tell me why my worksheet allows me to type in formulas one minute but then suddenly starts to display the formulas as text and won't do the calculations?
There are a few possible reasons why Excel might be displaying formulas as text instead of calculating them:
- Number formatting: Make sure that the cells containing your formulas are formatted as numbers, not as text. If the cell is formatted as text, Excel will treat any formula entered into that cell as text, and will not perform the calculation. To change the cell format, select the cell(s), right-click, and choose "Format Cells". In the "Number" tab, select "General" or another number format.
- Calculation options: Check that Excel is set to automatically calculate formulas. To do this, go to the "Formulas" tab in the ribbon, and click on "Calculation Options". Make sure that "Automatic" is selected.
- Show Formulas mode: Check if you have accidentally turned on the "Show Formulas" mode. This mode displays the formula in each cell instead of the calculated result. You can toggle this mode on and off by pressing "Ctrl + ` (grave accent)".
- Errors in the formula: If there is an error in your formula, Excel will not be able to calculate it. Check your formula for typos, missing or incorrect arguments, or invalid references.
- Calculation settings: If the calculation settings are set to "Manual", Excel will not calculate formulas automatically, and will display them as text. To change this, go to the "Formulas" tab in the ribbon, and click on "Calculation Options". Select "Automatic".
If none of these solutions work, try restarting Excel or your computer. If the problem persists, there may be an issue with your Excel installation, and you may need to repair or reinstall Excel.
Hope it helps you!
NikolinoDE Thank you for the information. The one option I found was while walking through the formula wizard it did not include the space after the comma and this made the formula unusable. Once I added the space after the comma / in front of the next argument, the formula worked.
