Show Formulas in Excel
By default, Excel shows the results of formulas. To view the formulas in the worksheet instead of their calculated values, press CTRL + `. This key is located above the Tab key.
1. When a cell is selected in Excel, the corresponding formula is displayed in the formula bar.
2. To see all formulas in your worksheet, press CTRL + `. This key is located above the Tab key.
3. Press ↓ twice.
Note: As you can see, Excel highlights all cells that are referenced by a formula.
4. Press CTRL + ` again to hide all formulas.
5. If the grave accent (`) is not available on your keyboard, navigate to the Formulas tab and select Show Formulas from the Formula Auditing group.
6. Click Show Formulas again to hide all formulas.
7. To highlight cells with formulas in Excel, use the ISFORMULA function along with conditional formatting.
How-to: Select the desired range of cells, navigate to the Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, choose New Rule, and then select Use a formula to determine which cells to format. Use the formula =ISFORMULA(A1), configure your desired formatting settings, and then apply the conditional formatting rule. Use the first cell of your selected range instead of “A1”.
8. Use FORMULATEXT to see a formula in an adjacent cell.
Tip: Check out our page on formula auditing in Excel to learn how to trace precedents, dependents, and check for errors.
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