I'm trying to do a formula where it is CELL / 127.05 - 1 and apply this to columns H-Y and rows 2-455. I'm not really familiar with excel and am going about this calculation cell by cell. Also, I'm running into a "circular" problem where certain cells rely on another, if anyone could explain this.
Thanks ahead of time!
A formula in a cell generally cannot refer to itself. If you want to apply an operation to an existing range of data, you can, but it is quite rare and surely not in the spirit of a spreadsheet app.
Regarding your question, you could
- enter a value (127.05) anywhere in an empty cell,
- then copy that cell
- then select the range you want to modify
- then select Paste Special / Divide (or any other operation)
As I said above, it sounds like you want to apply that formula to same cell that contains the value you want to act on. That will not work. results cells (i.e. containing your conclusions) will contain the formula and a reference to the cell it will act on. (Although I am using a smaller area for illustration, the principles will apply to your specific application)
Note - I used the randbetween(min,max) function to populate all the data cells. this is why each image contains different data. You of course will use cells containing static data.
For a simple example:
Say you put the value 127.05 in cell A1, and have a range of data cells, like this:
In cell F1, enter = b1/$a$1 - 1 like this:
Note, the $ signs tell Excel to use a static location cell reference. After hitting enter, the value -0.85045 will appear. Now, click and hold your mouse starting in that cell, and drag your mouse down to row 14 release the mouse button and hit keys <ctrl><d>. Your sheet should look like this:
Hold down the shift key while the column is still selected, and hit the right arrow key 3 times, Your sheet should look like this:
release the shift key and while the cells are all highlighted, hit keys <ctrl><r>. The results are here:
One way is to highlight the column (or specific range) you want to apply the formula to, press F2 to access the formula bar, type the formula, and press CTRL+D to paste DOWN if the range is vertical and CTRL+R to paste ACROSS if the range is horizontal. Say that your data looks like this:
A B
--- ---
5 A1/127-1
4
7
8
Then in order to copy the formula down, highlight A2 to A4 and press CTRL+D, or highlight B1, and click on the bottom right of the box that comes up surrounding the cell.
If you wanted to simply replace the values in A with their formula values you would still have to use Column B as a 'helper' column, rather than entering the value right into the cell. This is in fact exactly what is giving you the circular reference error.
Regarding the circular error, you may be trying to apply the formula to the cell you are already in. For example, if you are trying to apply the formula A1 / 127 - 1 in the cell A1 Excel won't know what to do because you have specified that the value of A1 is both the value in the specified cell and another value ( A1 / 127 - 1), which can't be true.
Now, the only way I know of to do what you're requesting is with VBA, because I realized just now that I asked a very similar question a while ago which was helpfully answered by Gary. The code was as follows:
Sub Formulate()
Dim N As Long, i As Long, dq As String
N = Cells(Rows.Count, "A").End(xlUp).Row
dq = Chr(34)
For i = 1 To N
v = Cells(i, 1).Value
Cells(i, 1).Formula = "=Text(" & v & "," & dq & "mm/dd/yyyy" & dq & ")"
Next i
End Sub
Related
How can I substitute a cell reference for the formula it contains, in other words, "expand" or "derivate" cell references?
An example, and I know I could calculate it using PV(): Suppose I want to calculate the present value of a given amount, reductor, number of periods and discount rate and in a spreadsheet I have:
A2: 1 (number of periods)
B2: 5000 (amount)
C2: 0,8 (reductor)
G1: 6% (discount rate)
If I want to calculate the final result on D2, I would have to enter:
=(B2*C2)*(1+$G$1)^(-A2)
(I intentionally used some unnecessary parentheses above)
But if I wanted, for debugging, or for building a more complex formula with more nested calculations write on cells:
D2: =E2*F2^G2
E2: =B2*C2
F2: =1+$G$1
G2: =-A2
So that I could check every part of the calculation is working ok and that the final formula is well "assembled" (or to easily correct what might be wrong or change it to calculate something else, like future value, for which I would remove the minus sign on G2).
And after doing those steps use some function/shortcut/feature on cell D2 that would replace
"=E2*F2^G2"
for
"=(B2*C2)*(1+$G$1)^(-A2)"
(i.e. do E2 → (B2*C2) F2 → (1+$G$1) and G2 → (-A2)) so that the desired formula is built on the right place and I can get rid of the temporary cells.
The closest to this behaviour I could find was formulatext() function, but it works just for a single reference and always include the "=" if I do, for instance
=CONCAT(FORMULATEXT(E2);"*";FORMULATEXT(F2);"^";FORMULATEXT(G2))
results in
=B2*C2*=1+$G$1^=-A2
which is not the desired result.
What I was expecting to find was something like when one select a part of a formula and presses F9 and it substitutes it for the value, but applied for functions or intermediate steps.
As it really does not seem to exist a built-in funcion on Excel, I came out with a script for doing this based on the answer on Parsing and extracting cell references from Excel formulas?
Works on Excel 365 (may work on other versions as well), replaces references on active cell only, does not work on cells that contain intervals (for instance, it will fail on a cell that contains =sum(A1:A5) ) and the contents of the precedent cells will end up enclosed in parentheses. It also does not replace "locked" cells (=$B$2 won't be replaced as well).
In summa, it is not perfect, maybe it's not ellegant too, but it seems to be as good as I needed and works on the proposed scope.
Sub ReplacePrecedents()
Dim r As Range, rr As Range
With ActiveCell.Range("A1")
' store the contents of the cell
parsedcontents = .Formula
Set r = .DirectPrecedents
' iterate throughout all precedents
For Each rr In r
' store each one between parentheses
appendstr = "("
' check whether first character is a "=" or a value
If StrComp(Left(rr.Range("A1").Formula, 1), "=") = 0 Then
appendstr = appendstr & Right(rr.Range("A1").Formula, Len(rr.Range("A1").Formula) - 1)
Else
appendstr = appendstr & rr.Range("A1").Formula
End If
appendstr = appendstr & ")"
' do the magic
parsedcontents = Replace(parsedcontents, rr.Address(0, 0), appendstr)
Next rr
' write the parsed string to the cell
.Formula = parsedcontents
End With
End Sub
Thank you for everyone that replied, I guess I still do not have privileges enough to upvote a comment, as soon as I do, I will.
Good day,
I'm at a loss on this problem.
I have a group of cells that contain words, like apple, this word would be the value. It is separated by a symbol for completing the math. They can be changed by the user to make custom calculations.
Cell A1 is "apple", B1 is "+", cell C1 is "apple", cell D1 is "*", cell E1 is "apple", call F1 is "=" and cell G1 is the suggested total, in this case would be "6".
It would be posted as | apple | + | apple | * | apple | = | 6 |
The legend holds the value for the word, so if you enter 2 in the legend, apple would be 2.
The logic would determine that the formula would be 2+2*2= if written in excel, I would like to combine all the cells and calculate this.
I tried using =sum, sumproduct, concate and the like to no avail.
Any head way I did make, I ended up getting BEDMAS wrong as it calculated it as 2+2=4*2=8, instead of the correct 2*2=4+2=6.
Anyone know of a way to combine these cells and properly sum the values to the correct total?
Thank you for your time!
Go to the Name manager and create named range Eval, into Refers to field add formula:
=EVALUATE(CONCATENATE(VLOOKUP(Sheet1!A1,Sheet1!$A$3:$B$5,2,0),Sheet1!B1,VLOOKUP(Sheet1!C1,Sheet1!$A$3:$B$5,2,0),Sheet1!D1,VLOOKUP(Sheet1!E1,Sheet1!$A$3:$B$5,2,0)))
In range A3:B5 I have legend.
Change references as you need. Then in cell G1 write formula =Eval.
Sample:
This is a UDF based solution. Its advantage is that it's more versatile and by far easier to maintain if you learn its elements of code. The disadvantage is in that you do have to learn the elements of code and you have an xlsm macro-enabled workbook which isn't welcome everywhere.
The setup is simple. I created a table with columns Item and Value. I placed it on another sheet than the task. In fact, you could make the sheet with the table VeryHidden so that the user can't look at it without access to the VBA project, which you can password protect. I called the table Legend. The item columns has names like apple, pear, orange. The Value column has the numeric values associated with each name.
Note that, since this is a VBA project, the entire list can be transferred to VBA leaving no trace on the sheet. You could have a function to display the value of each item as the user clicks on it and have it disappear as he clicks elsewhere.
Next I created a data validation drop-down in A1 with the List defined as =INDIRECT("Legend[Item]"). Copy this cell to C1 and E1.
Then I created another Data Validation drop-down in B1 with the list as +,-,*,/. This drop-down must be copied to D1.
Now the code below goes into a standard code module. Find the way to create it because it isn't any of those Excel sets up automatically. It's default name would be Module1. Paste the code there.
Function Evalue(Definition As Range) As Double
Dim Task As String
Dim Fact(2) As Double
Dim C As Long
Dim i As Long
With Definition
For C = 1 To 5 Step 2
On Error Resume Next
Fact(i) = Application.VLookup(.Cells(C).Value, Range("Legend"), 2, False)
i = i + 1
Next C
Task = "(" & Fact(0) & .Cells(2).Value _
& Fact(1) & ")" & .Cells(4).Value _
& Fact(2)
End With
Evalue = Evaluate(Task)
End Function
Now you are ready for testing. Call the function from the worksheet with a call like
=Evalue(A1:E1). You can use it in comparisons like =IF(G6 = Evalue(A1:E1), "Baravo!", "Try again"). As you change any of the components the cell with the function will change.
Remember to use absolute addressing if you copy formulas containing the range. If you need to get a result in VBA while testing, use this sub to call the function.
Private Sub TestEvalue()
Debug.Print Evalue(Range("A1:E1"))
End Sub
My Sheet
Here is what I have.
In cells M - U, i count all the instances of the word from cells E, G and I from the legend.
=SUMPRODUCT((LEN(E3)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(E3,$B$3,"")))/LEN($B$3))
In cells W - AE, I multiply the instances with the value to give me a total each time the word appears.
=SUM(M3*$C$3)
In cell E8 - I8, i add the three possible values together.
=SUM(W3:Y3) so each worded cell is now a number.
I'd like to take the cells E8 - I8 to make a calculation in k8 and so on.
So, each cell is put together to make an
=SUM(E8:I8)
statement, which all works except E11 - I11 which equates to 26 instead of 43.
I am trying to write a script to take an easy look into my data. The data is structured as follows:
Row 1: Parameter Name
Row 2: Lower Limit
Row 3: Upper Limit
Row 4: Unit
Row 5 and below: data (can go up to a couple thousands lines and couple hundred columns).
The thing I want to achieve is a script which formats each cell from row 5 down, to color green if it is in between the limits, and to color red if it is not. Each cell should look to it's own column row 2 and 3 for the limits.
I have tried going cell per cell, or column by column. Both worked fine on smaller datasets, but showed problems (excel freezing and eventually closing) on bigger datasets.
I am now trying to format a complete range (because excel has no problems when I do a big range in one piece by hand whatsoever) at once, but I can't access the individual column properties.
The code I am using:
With formatRange
.FormatConditions.Delete
.FormatConditions.Add Type:=xlCellValue, Operator:=xlBetween, Formula1:="=" & Cells(2, formatRange.Column).Address, Formula2:="=" & Cells(3, formatRange.Column).Address
.FormatConditions(1).Interior.Color = RGB(0, 249, 49)
End With
Now say my range is from A5:B10.
formatRange will be A5:B10.
I would expect every cell from A5:A10 to compare their values against A2 and A3. This is indeed the case
But the cells of B5:B10 also compare their values against A2 and A3.
So my question is, is there a scalable way I can make range B5:B10 look at B2 and B3 instead?
Edit
The answer of #Ryan B. is an easy and correct way of doing it by hand.
The problem in vba turned out to be the following:
Formula1:="=" & Cells(2, formatRange.Column).Address would ultimately result in Formula1:="=$A$2"
As suggested by the accepted answer, this needed to change to Formula1:="=A$2" to work.
The solution I found was to create a function which cut of the first character, and create the correct formula this way.
This can be done by tricking Excel's absolute and relative referencing within conditional formulas. No VBA is going to be required. Here is a quick mock of how I understand your data:
Select the first cell of your 'Row 5' range -- where you're going to apply the conditional formulas.
Open the conditional formatting dialog from the Styles button group in the Home Ribbon (this is B5 in my mock-up),
Create a 'New Rule'
Choose 'Use a formula to determine which cells to format' rule type
Begin typing the following rule. You will have to be quite careful and avoid all use of the arrow keys. If you need to get to a different point in the formula, use your mouse to move the insertion point. Make the proper adjustment in your formula if that initial column isn't column 'B' in your worksheet
=AND( B5 >= B$2, B5 < B$3)
Pay special notice to the Dollar Signs. There are NO absolute references used for the target cell, B5. There are absolute references (that's the dollar sign) in front of the row numbers for Lower and Upper, but not on the columns.
Set you're desired look for the "in-bounds" formatting and select OK.
Repeat the steps for your "out-of-bounds" formatting. Use the formula
=OR( B5 < B$2, B5 >= B$3)
Finally, to apply the formulas to your entire range:
Select the cell with the prepared formulas (B5 in this example) and hit [ctrl] + [c] to put excel into cut/copy mode
Select the entire target range
Right click and take 'Paste Special' from the context menu
Paste as formats
And your formatting should propagate through the worksheet.
Hope it helps. Always experiment on a copy of your workbook :)
I am trying to create a large spreadsheet(10,000 rows of formulas) that takes information in from two other sheets. The basic layout that I want is:
Row1
=Sheet1!A7
=Sheet2!M7
=Sheet1!A8
=Sheet2!M8
=Sheet1!A9
=Sheet2!M9
...etc.
When I try to use to formula auto fill, excel picks up on the wrong pattern and I end up with something like this:
=Sheet1!A7
=Sheet2!M7
...
=Sheet1!A11
=Sheet2!M11
=Sheet1!A17
=Sheet2!M17
I gave excel 10 cells to base the pattern off of, and have not been able to get it to work. Can anyone help me figure out how to do this (hopefully without VBA)?
Try to avoid the volatile¹ OFFSET function or INDIRECT / ADDRESS function pairs in favor of the INDEX function and a little maths.
In the first two cells use these two formulas.
=INDEX(Sheet1!A:A, 7+ROW(1:1)/2)
=INDEX(Sheet2!M:M, 7+ROW(1:1)/2)
Select the two cells and drag the Fill Handle down.
¹ Volatile functions recalculate whenever anything in the entire workbook changes, not just when something that affects their outcome changes. Examples of volatile functions are INDIRECT, OFFSET, TODAY, NOW, RAND and RANDBETWEEN. Some sub-functions of the CELL and INFO worksheet functions will make them volatile as well.
Here is a simple VBA macro that sets up your links. Use it until a non-VBA solution is presented:
Sub propagator()
Dim i As Long, k As Long
k = 1
For i = 7 To 99
Cells(k, 1).Formula = "=Sheet1!A" & i
k = k + 1
Cells(k, 1).Formula = "=Sheet2!M" & i
k = k + 1
Next i
End Sub
Just select the destination worksheet and run the macro.
Adjust the 99 to meet your needs.
You can solve this without VBA with some =INDIRECT trickery -- the following is located in "Sheet3":
You can type out Sheet1!A and Sheet2!M in cells A1 and A2 respectively and fill down. Then, type a 7 in B1 and the formula in B2 -- again fill down. This first formula is effectively incrementing the count by two. Finally, you can type the formula in C1 and fill down.
Use the INDIRECT function to build this, and you can make the pattern work based on your current row number. Assuming your first cell is in Row 2:
=INDIRECT("Sheet1!A" & 7+(ROUNDDOWN(ROW()/2,0)-1))
=INDIRECT("Sheet2!M" & 7+(ROUNDDOWN(ROW()/2,0)-1))
ROW() returns the current row, which is then divided by 2 (since you only increase one row reference for every two cells), and then subtracted 1 (since we want the first adjustment to be 0).
Try in row 2:
=INDIRECT("Sheet1!A" & 7 +QUOTIENT(ROW()-2,2))
And in row 3:
=INDIRECT("Sheet2!M" & 7 +QUOTIENT(ROW()-2,2))
Highlight both and copy down.
Say I've got cells A1-A10 populated with numbers. My initial formula in cell B1 is =A1-A6. However, I'd like to strike-out cell A3 (keeping the contents visible underneath the strike-out if possible), and I'd like the formula in B1 to recognise that change, and then automatically adjust itself to =A1-A7 (the idea being that I'd like A1 subtracted by the number in the cell 5 "non-struck out" cells below it). And then if I strike out cell A5 I'd like the formula to adjust itself to =A1-A8 and so on. Does anyone know how to do this?
(EDIT#1: misread the input, sorry)
A bit straightforward, but will do the job: type =A1-INDIRECT("A"&SMALL(IF(A:A<>"",ROW(A:A),""),6)) and press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER instead of usual ENTER - this will define an ARRAY formula and will result in {} brackets around it (but do NOT type them manually!).
To speed up calculation you may replace A:A to any limited range.
Sample file (resulting formula is yellow-marked): https://www.dropbox.com/s/sy7zkg71xtfgib9/Subtract5th.xlsx
(EDIT#2: misread the "strike-out", sorry)
Font styles (as well as similar cell properties) may NOT be read by default Excel functions, that's why you need to add UDF called StrikeOut:
Press ALT-F11 - thiss will open VBA editor.
Insert new module: Insert > Module.
Paste the code to added module:
Function StrikeOut(R As Range) As Long
Dim c As Range
StrikeOut = 0
For Each c In R.Cells
If c.Font.Strikethrough = True Then StrikeOut = StrikeOut + 1
Next
End Function
Add the formula to B1: =A1-INDIRECT("A"&(6+StrikeOut(A2:A10)))
Set strikethrough font to any cells in A1:A10.
Unfortunately, cell format change does NOT trigger any change event, so you need either press F9 or change any cell value on the sheet to recalculate and therefore update result in B1.
Sample file is shared: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n9o7tn3ks3x8nza/StrikeOut.xlsm
P.S. at least for me that was extremely useful)))