Part IV: Using Advanced Excel Features
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Cell A4 has three precedent cells (A1, A2, and A3), which are all direct precedents. Cells A1, A2,
and A3 each have a dependent cell (cell A4), and they’re all direct dependents.Identifying cell precedents for a formula cell often sheds light on why the formula isn’t working cor-
rectly. Conversely, knowing which formula cells depend on a particular cell is also helpful. For exam-
ple, if you’re about to delete a formula, you may want to check whether it has any dependents.Identifying precedents
You can identify cells used by a formula in the active cell in a number of ways:l (^) Press F2. The cells that are used directly by the formula are outlined in color, and the
color corresponds to the cell reference in the formula. This technique is limited to identi-
fying cells on the same sheet as the formula.
l Display the Go to Special dialog box. (Choose Home ➪ Editing ➪ Find & Select ➪
Go to Special.) Select the Precedents option and then select either Direct Only (for direct
precedents only) or All Levels (for direct and indirect precedents). Click OK, and Excel
selects the precedent cells for the formula. This technique is limited to identifying cells on
the same sheet as the formula.
l (^) Press Ctrl+[. This selects all direct precedent cells on the active sheet.
l Press Ctrl+Shift+{. This selects all precedent cells (direct and indirect) on the active
sheet.
l Choose Formulas ➪ Formula Auditing ➪ Trace Precedents. Excel will draw arrows to
indicate the cell’s precedents. Click this button multiple times to see additional levels of
precedents. Choose Formulas ➪ Formula Auditing ➪ Remove Arrows to hide the arrows.
Figure 32.9 shows a worksheet with precedent arrows drawn to indicate the precedents
for the formula in cell C13.
FIGURE 32.9
This worksheet displays arrows that indicate cell precedents for the formula in cell C13.