Formula Auditing in Excel: Two ways in which you can use it

Formula Auditing in Excel: two ways in which you can use it for checking formulas in your worksheets

This week’s hint and tip is on Formula Auditing in Excel. This section is covered briefly in our Intermediate Excel training course. It​ isn’t covered in a lot of detail as it is a smaller section on our course. There are several features in this area but we’re focussing on just two in this hint and tip. These are:

1. Watch Windows
2. Trace Precedents

In the video below you will see how they both work. Excel is such a sophisticated package that sometimes a little help is required in order to understand what is going on. This is especially true if someone else has constructed a formula on a sheet and you need help to understand it.

Watch Windows

Firstly we will look at watch windows. Watch windows enable you to keep an eye on the value of a cell in a spreadsheet when you change a cell in an entirely different place on the workbook. This can be especially useful if you have very large workbooks with lots of rows of data in it.

Trace Precedents

Secondly we will look at race precedents. Trace Precedents allows you to see which cell precedents are used in the making up of a formula cell. Again, this works across worksheets and even across workbooks if they are open.

Both of these are covered in our Excel training courses which we run in Worcestershire, Herefordshire, across the Midlands and throughout the UK.

The video below shows you how to use these two options in the Formula Auditing part in Excel. It also shows how they can be beneficial for you in your day to day work.

Watch the video below to find out more and then try it out on your own computer!