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When using formulas in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, you may want them visible instead of the cell results, or you may want to see them in case you need to edit them. Either way, you’ll need to have your Excel formulas shown rather than being hidden from sight on your spreadsheet. There are two easy ways to show formulas in Excel, and we’ll take you through them below.
All Excel spreadsheets automatically switch formulas to their results, so you will need to switch this setting off in Excel.
Using The Hide/Show Formulas Button
Step
Head to the Formulas tab
To start, head to the Formulas menu.
The Formulas button can be found at the top ribbon menu, between Page Layout and Data buttons.
Once you find it, click on it to open up the Formulas menu.
Step
Select the Hide/Show Formulas button
The Hide/Show Formulas button can be found in the ‘Formula Auditing’ section of the Formulas menu, on the right hand side of the ‘Trace Precedents’ button.
Once you find it, select it once, and all of your formulas will appear on your spreadsheet.
If you want to hide your formulas, then just select the Hide/Show Formulas button again and your formulas will switch to their results.
The Keyboard Shortcut
Step
Highlight your result cells
This method uses a keyboard shortcut to switch your results to formulas.
To start, you will need to highlight all the cells of the spreadsheet which contain your results.
To do this, click and drag your cursor over them until they change to a light blue color.
Step
Press CTRL +
Once all of your cells are highlighted, you need to press the CTRL and + buttons on your keyboard.
Press the both at the same time.
This will switch the results in your highlighted cells to show their formulas instead.
Side By Side
This method will help you display both the formals and their results next to each other.
This way, you can see both and not have to switch back and forth between the result and formula all the time.
Step
Select the cell next to your results cell
To start, select an empty cell that can be adjacent to the results cell.
Step
Type In =FORMULATEXT
In this empty selected cell, you will need to type =FORMULATEXT into the text bar.
This function will then need to be followed by the reference of the results cell in brackets.
For example, if your results are in cell B5, then you will need to type =FORMULATEXT(B5) in the selected cell.
When you select a different cell, the formula will then appear.
Conclusion
So, those are three different methods you can use to show formulas in Excel. Whether you prefer to use a quick shortcut on your keyboard or use the convenient button on the Formulas menu, there is a method that is right for you.