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Making An Exact Copy Of A Range Of Formulas

Category: General / Formulas / General VBA | [Item URL]

Assume that A1:D10 on Sheet1 has a range of cells that contain formulas. Furthermore,

assume tha t you want to make a n exact copy of these formulas, beg inning in cell A11 on

Sheet1. By "exact," I mean a perfect replica -- the original cell references s hould not change.

If the formulas contain only absolute cell references, it's a piece of cake. Just use the standard

copy/paste commands. But if the formulas contain relative or mixed references, the standard

copy/paste technique won't work because the relative and mixed references w ill be ad justed

when the range is pasted.

If you're a VBA programmer, you can simply execute the follow ing code :

With Sheets("Sheet1")

.Range("A11:D20").Formula = .Range("A1:D10").Formula

End With

Following are step-by-step instructions to accomplish this task without using VBA (contributed

by Bob Umlas):

1. Select the source range (A1:D10 in this example).

2. Group the s ource she et w ith another empty sheet (say Sheet2). To do this, press C trl

while you click the sheet tab for Sheet2

3. Select Edit - Fill - Across wo rkshee ts (choose the All option in the dialog box).

4. Ungroup the sheets (click the she et tab for Sheet2)

5. In Sheet2, the copied range w ill be selected. Choose Edit - Cut.

6. Activate cell A11 (in Sheet2) and pres s Enter to pa ste the cut cells. A11.D20 will be

selected.

7. Re-group the shee ts. Press Ctl and click the sheet tab for Sheet18. Once again, use Edit - Fill - Across wo rksheets .

9. Activate Sheet1, and you'll find that A11:D20 contains an e xact replica of the formulas in

A1:D10.

Note: For another method of performing this task, see Making An Exact Copy Of A Range Of 

Formulas, Take 2.

Comparing Two Lists With Conditional Formatting

Category: Formatting / Formulas | [Item URL]

Excel's C onditional Formatting feature has many use s. Suppose you need to compare two lists,

and identify the items tha t are different. The figure below show s an e xample. These lists

happen to contain text, but this technique also works w ith numeric data.

Excel TipsExcel has a long history, and it continues

to evolve and change. Consequently, the

tips provided here do not necessarily

apply to all versions of Excel.

In particular, the user interface for Excel

2007 (and later), is vastly different from

its predecessors. Therefore, the menu

commands listed in older tips, will not

correspond to the Excel 2007 (and later)

user interface.

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Tip BooksNeeds tips? Here are two books, with

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The first list is in A2:B19, and this range is named OldList . The second list is in D2:E19, and the

range is named NewList . The ranges we re named using the Insert - Name - Define command.

Naming the ranges is not necess ary, but it makes them easier to w ork with.

As you can se e, items in OldList that do not appear in NewList are highlighted with a yellow

background . Items in NewList that do not appear in OldList are highlighted w ith a green

background. These colors are the result of Conditional Formatting.

How to do it

1. Start by selecting the OldList range.

2. Choo se Format - Cond itiona l Formatting

3. In the Conditional Formatting dialog box, use the drop -down list to choose Formula is.

4. Enter this formula:

=COUNTIF(NewList,A2)=0

5. Click the Format button and specify the formatting to apply when the condition is true (a

yellow background in this example).

6. Click OK

The cells in the NewList range will use a s imilar conditional formatting formula.

1. Select the NewList range.

2. Choo se Format - Cond itiona l Formatting3. In the Conditional Formatting dialog box, use the drop -down list to choose Formula is.

4. Enter this formula:

=COUNTIF(OldList,D2)=0

5. Click the Format button and specify the formatting to apply when the condition is true (a

green background in this example).

6. Click OK

Both of thes e cond itiona l formatting formulas use the COUNTIF function. This function counts

the number of times a p articular value appea rs in a range . If the formula returns 0, it means

that the item does not appear in the range. Therefore, the conditional formatting kicks in and

the cell's background color is changed.

The cell reference in the COUNTIF function should always be the upper left cell of the selected

range.

Locate Phantom Links In A Workbook

Category: Formulas | [Item URL]

Q. W henever I open a particular Excel workbook, I get a message asking if I want to

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update the links. I've examined every formula in the workbook, and I am absolutely

certain that the workbook contains no links to any other file. What can I do to convince

Excel that the workbook has no links?

You've encountered the infamous "phantom link" phenomenon. I've never known Excel to be

wrong about identifying links, so there's an excellent chance that your workbook does contain

one or more links -- but they a re probably not formula links.

Follow these steps to identify and e radicate a ny links in a w orkbook.

1. Select Edit, Links. In many cases , this command may not be available. If it is available, the

Links dialog bo x will tell you the name o f the so urce file for the link. Click the Change

Source button and change the link so it refers to the active file.2. Select Insert, Name, Define. Scroll through the list of names in the Define Name dialog bo x

and e xamine the Refers to bo x (see the figure be low). If a name refers to another

workbook or contains an e rroneous reference such a s #REF!, delete the name. This is, by

far, the mos t common cause of phantom links

3. If you have a cha rt in your workbook, click on each data s eries in the chart and examine

the SERIES formula disp layed in the formula ba r. If the SERIES formula refers to ano ther

wo rkbook, you've identified your link. To e liminate the link move or copy the cha rt's data

into the current workbook and recreate your chart.

4. If your workbook contains any custom dialog sheets , select each obje ct in each dialog

sheet and e xamine the formula ba r. If any obje ct conta ins a reference to anothe r

workbook, edit or delete the reference.

Next, save your workbook and the n re-open it. It should open up without asking you to

update the links.

Dealing With Negative Time Values

Category: Formulas | [Item URL]

Because Excel stores date s and times as numeric values, it's po ssible to add or sub tract one

from the other.

However, if you have a workbook containing only times (no da tes ), you may have discovered

that subtracting one time from another doesn't always work. Negative time values appea r as a

series of hash marks (########), even though you've ass igned the [h]:mm format to the

cells.

By default, Excel uses a date system that begins with January 1, 1900. A negative time valuegenerates a date/time combination that falls before this date, which is invalid.

The solution is to us e the optional 1904 date system. Select Tools, Options, click the Calculation

tab, and check the 1904 date system box to change the starting date to January 2, 1904. Your

negative times will now be displayed correctly, as s hown below.

Be careful if you workbook contains links to other files that don't use the 1904 date system. In

such a cas e, the mismatch of date systems could cause erroneous results.

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Converting Non-numbers To Actual Values

Category: Formulas | [Item URL]

Q. I often import data into Excel from various applications, including Access. I've found

that values are sometimes imported as text, which means I can't use them in calculations

or with commands that require values. I've tried formatting the cells as values, with no

success. The only way I've found to convert the text into values is to edit the cell and then

press Enter. Is there an easier way to make these conversions?

This is a common problem in Excel. The goo d new s is the Excel 2002 is a ble to identify such

cells and you can e as ily correct them If you're us ing an olde r version of Excel, you can use this

method:

1. Select any empty cell

2. Enter the value 1 into that cell

3. Choose Edit, Copy 

4. Select all the cells that need to be converted

5. Choose Edit, Paste Special 

6. In the Paste Special dialog box, select the Multiply option, the n click OK.

This operation multiplies e ach cell by 1, and in the process converts the ce ll's conten ts to a

value.

Compare Ranges By Using An Array Formula

Category: Formulas | [Item URL]

In Excel, you can compare the cells in two ranges w ith an array formula. For instance, to see if 

all of the values in A1:A100 a re identical to thos e in B1:B100, type this array formula:

=SUM(IF(A1:A100=B1:B100,0,1))

Note: This is an array formula and it must be entered using Ctrl-Shift-Enter .

The formula w ill return the number of correspond ing cells that a re different. If the formula

returns 0, it means that the two ranges are identical.

Calculate The Number Of Days In A Month

Category: Formulas | [Item URL]

Excel lacks a function for calculating the number of days in a pa rticular month, so you'll need to

construct your own formula.

If cell A1 contains a date , this formula will return the numbe r of days in the month:

=DAY(DATE(YEAR(A1),MONTH(A1)+1,1)-1)

Identify Formulas By Using Conditional Formatting

Category: Formulas | [Item URL]

How many times have you a cciden tally deleted o r overwritten cells containing formulas on ly to

discover the mistake a fter it's too late ? One s olution is to write-protect important cells.

Another approach is to give those cells a visual flag.

This clever technique wa s submitted by David Hager. It uses Conditional Formatting (available

in Excel 97 or later) to app ly special formatting to ce lls tha t contain formulas--something that's

not normally possible. With this technique you can set up your worksheet so that all formula

cells g et a yellow background, for example, or so that negative values a re in boldface.

Follow these steps:

1. Select Insert, Name, Define.

2. In the Define Name dialog box, enter the following in the 'Names in workbook' box

CellHasFormula

3. Then ente r the following formula in the "Refers to" box

=GET.CELL(48,INDIRECT("rc",FALSE))

4. Click Add , and then OK.

5. Select all the cells to which you want to app ly the conditional formatting.

6. Select Format, Conditional Formatting

7. In the Conditional Formatting dialog box, se lect Formula Is from the drop-down list, and

then enter this formula in the adjacent bo x (see the figure below ):

=CellHasFormula

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8. Click the Format button and select the type of formatting you want for the cells that

contain a formula.

9. Click OK.

After you've completed these steps, every cell that contains a formula and is within the range

you se lected in Step 4 w ill display the formatting of your choice.

How does it work? The key component is creating a named formula in Steps 2 and 3. This

formula, unlike s tandard formulas, does n't reside in a cell, but it still acts like a formula by

returning a value -- in this case either 'True' or 'False'. The formula use s the GET.CELL function,

which is part of the XLM macro language (VBA's predecessor) and cannot be used directly in awo rksheet. Using a value o f 48 as the first argument for GET.CELL cause s the function to

return 'True' if the cell contains a formula. The INDIRECT function e sse ntially creates a

reference to e ach cell in the selected range.

Displaying Autofilter Criteria

Category: Formulas | [Item URL]

Excel's AutoFilter feature de finitely ranks right up the re when it comes to handy tools. This

feature, which you access with the Data, Filter, AutoFilter command, works with a range of cells

set up as a databa se o r list. When AutoFiltering is turned on, the row he aders d isplay drop-

down arrows that let you specify criteria (such as "Age greater than 30"). Rows that don't

match your criteria a re hidden , but they are red isplayed w hen you turn off AutoFiltering.

One problem w ith AutoFiltering is that you can't tell which criteria are in e ffect. Stephe n Bullen

deve loped a custom VBA workshee t function tha t displays the current AutoFilter criteria in a

cell. The instructions tha t follow a re for Excel 97 or late r.

Press Alt+F11 and insert a new module for the a ctive workbook. Then e nter the VBA code for

the FilterCriteria show n be low.

Function FilterCriteria(Rng As Range) As String

'By Stephen Bullen

Dim Filter As String

Filter = ""

On Error GoTo Finish

With Rng.Parent.AutoFilter

If Intersect(Rng, .Range) Is Nothing Then GoTo Finish

With .Filters(Rng.Column - .Range.Column + 1)

If Not .On Then GoTo Finish

Filter = .Criteria1

Select Case .Operator

Case xlAnd

Filter = Filter & " AND " & .Criteria2

Case xlOr

Filter = Filter & " OR " & .Criteria2

End Select

End With

End With

Finish:

FilterCriteria = Filter

End Function

After you've en tered the VBA code, you can use the function in your formulas. The single-cell

argument for the FilterCriteria function can refer to any cell within the column of interes t. The

formula w ill return the current AutoFilter criteria (if any) for the specified column. When you

turn AutoFiltering o ff, the formulas do n't display anything.

The figure below shows the FilterCriteria in action. The function is used in the cells in row 1.

For exam le cell A1 contains this formula:

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=FilterCriteria(A3)

As you can se e, the list is currently filtered to show rows in which column A contains January,

column C contains a code of A or B, and column D contains a va lue grea ter than 125 (column B

is not filtered , so the formula in cell B1 displays nothing). The row s tha t don't match these

criteria are hidden.

Calculating A Conditional Average

Category: Formulas | [Item URL]

In the real world, a s imple average often isn't ade quate for your needs .

For example, an instructor might calculate student grades by averaging a series of tes t scores

but omitting the tw o lowes t scores. Or you might want to compute an a verage that ignores

both the highest and lowest values.

In cases such as these, the AVERAGE function w on't do, so you must create a more complex

formula. The following Excel formula computes the average of the values contained in a range

named "scores," but excludes the highest and lowe st values:

=(SUM(scores)-MIN(scores)-MAX(scores))/(COUNT(scores)-2)

Here's an example that calculates an a verage excluding the tw o lowe st scores:

=(SUM(scores)-MIN(scores)-SMALL(scores,2))/(COUNT(scores)-2)

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