Comments on: Excel formulas not working, not updating, not calculating: fixes & solutions

This tutorial explains the most common mistakes when making formulas in Excel, and how to fix a formula that is not calculating or not updating automatically. Continue reading →

Comments page 6. Total comments: 459

  1. Thank you for your suggestion to check the List separator (Suggestion#7).
    I have been using vlook every day for nearly 2 years but recently my excell was updated and my Vlookup wasn't working and I was going crazy and finally realized the list separator is not comma but | in the new version
    Thank you.

  2. I am using MS Office and Excel for Mac; do the above fixes differ when trying to get Excel to calculate formulas? I came here looking for an answer to the issue of the fact that I just noticed that my Excel spreadsheet in not automatically updating and maintaining old data in cells after I have changed the data.

    My only option right now is to re-calculate every cell and every calculation. but then when I make a change I'll have to watch changes are made again.

    The fix recommendation of making sure my Formulas, Options, setting is set for "Calculate Automatically" has been tried...no different result.

    Does anyone have any other ideas on what is wrong and a fix?

  3. I'm having the same issue as Abby - I can't get a simple AutoSum formula to work - it just shows a zero. I've tried both ways (=B21+B40) and =(SUM(B1, B40). And when I click on prior AutoSum formulas that worked perfectly, they reset to zero.

    1. Having the sane "autosum not adding anything up and only giving zero as result" problem here, Used to work in previous versions. No idea why now not working

  4. Hi, my problem is I just Sumif formula for using one file to another file, if both files are open that formula give a correct ans. but i closed that Conciliated file that formula shows #value!. Please advise.

  5. Formula for a cell is not calculating, it just shows as zero. I'm using accounting format, but I have attempted to switch to general and it still doesn't calculate. It is an extremely basic formula - =B14+F14. I sent the email to a coworker and she is having the same issue.

  6. Would a formula not work due to an enabled editing from a protected document? the person who sent me the excel document via email can edit the worksheet and use the formula function after enable editing. although when i open the same document from the email, I do not get the "enable editing" yellow bar and the document's formulas do not work. Please help?

  7. Hallo,
    Could you help me with this formula, please?
    =IF(AND(F14=12),"Continue",IF(AND(F147),"Continue",IF(AND(F14>70,F22>=12),"Rethink","Cancel")))
    In place where supposed to appear "Rethink" stubbornly apeears "Continue". I tried many different options but even when I delete everything and left only two parts and "Cancel" as false statement , it showed me "Continue"
    There are 5 columns for this formula. Four are working good. All changes in figures cause changes in results - the text. The last column resists.This part : IF(AND(F14>70,F22>=12),"Rethink" is designed exactly for this column to met all condition. I tried everything I know and it is not working. Could you help me with this - why it is happening? I checked settings in my excel and everything is ok

    1. Hello!
      Your formula is incomplete. Try to insert spaces before and after the > and <. Then it will be recorded in full.

      1. Hallo, Thank you for response, Btw I just noticed I made the mistake when I was copying my formula to show you, here is right one =IF(AND(F1412),"Continue",IF(AND(F147),"Continue",IF(AND(F14>70,F22>12),"Rethink","Cancel"))), I added spaces as you advised and got info that typo was found and excel corrected it back with no space :( still not working

        1. Hello!
          Unfortunately, I cannot figure out your formula. I forgot to say that spaces should not be inserted in Excel, but in the comment itself. If possible, describe in words the conditions in the formula to make it easier for me to understand how it works. Thank you.

  8. Thanks so much!! I was on the verge of giving up and found an easy solution here.

  9. Hi,
    I have an own function, eg :

    Function Pipo( nRow as integer, nColumn as Integer, nVal as Integer )
    Cells( nRow, nColumn+1).Value = nVal+1
    Pipo = nVal
    End Function

    -> Update next Cell with value : nVal+1
    -> Returns : nVal

    The cell it is used in in looks like : =Pipo( ROW(), COLUMN(), 9 )

    However the return in "#VALUE" and the next cell is not updated.
    It is the Cells function that is causing this error. Even using Range() instead does not work.

    Any ideas?

    G,
    Marco

    1. Well, found it -> updating a cell only works from within a Subroutine.

      Case closed.

  10. was using excell all was ok now suddenly any new formula eg sum of 2 cells or sum of row, and all gives a $ - result. how can i fix this?

  11. I am trying to add a simple column of numbers and sum it up in a separate cell - like I've done for 20 years. I am typing : =SUM(highlighting the cells).... It simply does not add up the result, just showing 0! Ditto any other function like AVERAGE.I followed your tips to no avail. I am using licensed 365 Excel subs. (Also how may I simply clear all formatting from all cells? My cells are all General.

  12. some fields recalculate when I change a variable, some don't. When I try to fix a field individually by re-inputting the formula the value goes to 0.

    I looked into the fixes listed here with no luck.

  13. Hi, I'm trying to produce a Gantt chart and have been following some online tutorials (Vertex42)

    Having carefully followed the instructions it appears l am unable to fill the bars - all relevant information is inputted - weekly dates, start dates, and finished dates as like the tutorial.
    However when l select conditional formatting, new rule and input the new formula - AND(E$5>=$B7,E$5<=$C7), followed by pressing format which then gives the option to select fill colour, on selection of fill colour it returns to format options - where l select "OK" and then nothing changes, unlike the tutorial where all relevant information bars highlighted in the chosen colour

  14. Found the solution to my problems. Thanks

  15. ITS REALLY HELPFULL THANKS FOR THIS.

  16. thank you it helps.

  17. Thanks a lot

  18. In my spreadsheet, there are a couple of random cells where the formula does not produce the correct result. It's a simple if statement.

    1. Hello!
      And what is your problem?
      Please specify what you were trying to find, what formula you used and what problem or error occurred.

  19. I'm trying to find the reason that certain cells do not generate an outcome when my colleague opens the sheet, whereas with me and other colleagues it does. His setting is set at automatic, so that's not it. We've also restarted excel. It's a string of cells that return a value by looking it up in a database. (e.g. array functions and vlookup involved)
    Does anyone have any suggestions where to look?

    1. Hello!
      You haven't written what kind of data you're working with. Perhaps you have differences in the regional settings, in the separators used. If you give more information, I will try to help.

      1. Has this been resolved? I am having the same issue. Formula is countifs

  20. I am trying to use IF function to determine if numbers in two cells are the same. I think the issue is one of the cells in the comparison is from a calculation. i.e. Cell A ($0.14) is a hard number typed in, Cell D is calculated from numbers in cell B and Cell C (B-$31.21*0.45%).
    The IF function will only work if I switch the "if true" and "if false" - that is completely backwards and doesn't make sense to do. Any guidance is appreciated.

      1. You just saved my sanity with that answer :-)

  21. Thanks a lot. It is Really very helpful. My issue was resolved within some seconds.

  22. ablebits was the FIRST source to help me figure out why my formulas weren't calculating on an excel summary speadsheet. Microsoft, among others, assumes that every idiot is a genius even before he or she ventures into a new area of excel (or any other microsoft product, for that matter). In this case, I never before summed values from multiple worksheets. That may be hard to believe but it's true. How was I supposed to know that the "show formulas" option was "on" or even that it would prevent me from calculating formulas? If I were Bill Gates, I wouldn't be sitting here, right? Why do he and his fellow robots just ASSUME that we are all blinding beams of light like all Harvard and MIT students are? Thank you ablebits!!! I'm under quite a bit of pressure, and I will remember this--and you!

  23. thank you very much. this article help me.

  24. I just wanted to say thank you, this was very helpful. I contacted Microsoft and my company IT department for something that started after my system was updated from 2010 to 2016. After 4 phones call and 5 people that told me it was a compatibility issue and I had to recreate all my formulated spreadsheets, I almost lost my mind. I knew there had to be a solution to the issue I was having. After finding this page, 2 clicks later my problem was solved. This goes to show that just because someone works for a company doesn't always mean that they have the answers or even know what they are talking about. They almost had me unnecessarily recreating numerous spreadsheets because they could not be bothered to listen to the issue. I think the worst thing about customer service in 2020 is people would rather give you wrong/misinformation than to admit they don’t know how to do something.

  25. In my current position, I have to examine data in spreadsheets.
    One of the most current problems I have is WHEN I insert column to grab a DAY (for example), it comes back MM/DD/YYYY instead of DD. I have to format that column to GENERAL to just get DD

    1. Unfortunately, Excel always copies the format to a new column or row from neighboring ones. This can only be changed using the VBA macro.

      Excel includes a feature that allows you to modify how you insert rows, columns, or cells in your worksheet. When you insert any of these, Excel displays a small, floating "button" right near the inserted row, column, or cell. The button, called "Insert Options," has a small paintbrush on it, similar to the Format Painter tool. Click the button, and Excel displays some options about how the inserted row, column, or cell should be formatted.

  26. The RIGHT() command is not responding inside IF()
    For example,
    =IF(RIGHT(A2,1)<4,A2+$F$14,A2+$F$15)

    In both conditions the results are fulse(second one).
    Please help me thanks ?

    1. Hello!
      For your formula to work, numbers must be written in all the cells it uses. Give an example of the source data and the expected result.
      It’ll help me understand it better and find a solution for you. Thank you.

  27. Nice Article, it resolved my issues

  28. Hi,
    Can you please help.
    Here's my scenario.
    I have a value in cell C1 let's say 5 , this cell value is an output of this formula =TEXTJOIN("",TRUE,IFERROR(MID(A1,ROW(INDIRECT("1:30")),1)+0,"")) because I want to get the numeric value only from the other cell. And now in cell D1 I have a value let's say 3 this is an extracted value from previous result. So now in cell E1, I want to match cell C1 and cell D1 if they match or not, so I used this formula =IF(C1=D1,"Match","Not Match"). My problem was it did not get the correct evaluation, all results are "Not Match" even there are values that are Matched. I tried the remedies mentioned but still didn't worked. Thank you.

    1. Hello!
      In your example, you compare 5 and 3. And they do not match. You did not specify real values. I can assume that you are comparing text and number. Perhaps there are extra spaces, non-printable characters in the text. I recommend checking for extra spaces and non-printing characters, as described in this article.

  29. Wowww....

  30. 1. Go to formulas tab, and uncheck the button "Show Formulas". It will show the result in cell instead of formulas. 2. Change the cell format into General -> double click on that cell and enter again (rewrite the formulas)

    1. OMG! Just this trick would work. Thank you!

  31. When I calculate a formula say subtraction:
    E.g x-y, x has multiple values(x-> 1-n) but y is constant (y-> 1234) and has a blank column below it, after calculating the first one manually and then dragging it so as to get the same calculations done quickly it subtracts the blank boxes and i get the result as x only and not x-y.
    What to do?

  32. Corina,

    I've rechecked the problem you reported and entered =61.0385 * 1.95 * 8 in a random cell. The result I got was 952.2006

    Could you please describe the steps you take in more detail? Are your original numbers entered as values or as cell references? If 61.0385, 1.95 and 8 are located in separate cells and you're multiplying their cell references, please recheck the rounding set for these cells and let me know about the result. Thank you.

  33. This question will be simple but I do not know a lot about Excel
    61.0385 x 1.95 x 8 = 952.20 however in excel it totals the answer as 953.98
    What formula do I used to rectify this problem so that I get the correct answer

  34. thank you

  35. thank you.☺

  36. So Frustrated!
    Simple SUM formula - have tried to go at this multiple different ways still the same result.
    - SUM a column *click the top and drag to the bottom and click the SUM function - shows a zero balance of $-
    - type =SUM(H3:H203) Same issue it shows a zero balance of $-

    The sum should be close to $130,000.00 so why is this happening?? I have made sure there are no apostrophe or anything when typed. I could really use someones help as I am trying on another column as well and the same issue arises.

    1. Hi Michelle,

      You can use the ISNUMBER function to check if your values are numbers. For example:
      =ISNUMBER(H3)

      If the above formula returns FALSE, that means a number is stored as text and you need to convert text to number.

  37. "Me too!" That "automatic" thing fixed my cells so they update, thanks for posting this.

  38. I don't know why it happened to one of my file suddenly but, big thanks! it very helpful!

  39. Thank you for the quick result and very helpful for us.

  40. I have a workbook with macros, etc., and all of a sudden, some of my data began to look suspicious. One column of simple formulas that uses an if statement, and then adds two cells together... stopped updating. Only that ONE column on ONE sheet of several different sheets. If I click inside a cell in that column then click out it, that cell would update. F9, calculate states, etc., and all other tips in this thread were investigated. The only one that worked, was opening a new workbook, copying the problem formula into the new workbook (copy the formula line, not the cell), then past the formula into the formula bar in the new workbook. enter enough variables in source cells, and make sure it works as expected. Then, do the reverse; copy the formula from the new workbook back into a cell in the original problem workbook. Drag/fill down the column and all good. I can't tell you if it will work next month when I run it, but at least I got somewhere. Over the years, I have found odd/similar unexplained anomalies that come and go without warning. I'm considering--for critical formula/data... to see if I should/can write some verification formulas; to flag cells that are not updating... and hardest part is to recreate ore preserve the error mode,--thus very difficult to get anyone in IT to investigate--I needed my data, so I didn't have time to wait for IT.

  41. Please fix my formula
    =COUNTIFS(DIS!B:B,{"Taimani","chaman","Khushalkhan"},DIS!E:E,{"Group Loan","GMRB"},DIS!F:F,{"Trade","Trade SS"})

  42. Thank you for your cooperation. This was very helpful for me.
    Have a nice day!

  43. I used this formula =HYPERLINK(INDIRECT(C3)) in cell d5 while c3 contain Sheet8! A4, but while i click on d5 it show error "cannot open the specified file" but while i click fx in formula bar it take to desired link place.

    Please help

  44. Query..
    I copied data from Power point
    Data pasted in excel sheet
    But..
    The data pasted in excel sheet in each cell after the value the one extra space is been showing,
    Because of this extra space the sum value cannot be calculated.

    For example.
    "30.5 "
    It should be only "30.5" no space required after the 5..

    How to solve this problem.????
    General done, number format done, trim formula used, find replace doesn't work..

  45. If your date is not possible, formulas won't work. For example, 11/31/2020 can be entered into a cell but it will result in a calculation error until updated to 11/30/2020. Only 30 days in November. Spent about a 20 minutes on that particular typo.

  46. Thank you!

  47. Thanks so much, very helpful!

  48. I have followed the instructions for a complex number format, e.g. COMPLEX(real part, imaginary part), in my Mac version 16.20, but Excel does not recognize that format. Any suggestions?

  49. Thanks a lot, quite useful! Specifically the point about formula "entered as text"

  50. Column A Column B
    Inv No. PC How Can I get the answer on column B by using
    Excel Formula
    18JH42A330EN00710076 A330
    18JH42A330EN00720077 A330
    18JH44A330RT00720086 A330
    18CH2S011S0047 S011
    18JK2T007G0111 T007
    18TN2O004G0280 O004
    18PM080154WB0648 PM08
    18P055N0365WB117 P055
    18A377C0531KA025 A377

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