Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2002 and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Watching Cell Values.

Watching Cell Values

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 2, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2002 and 2003


There's a nifty feature added in Excel 2002 that allows you to keep an eye on the value of certain cells. This is really handy in large worksheets. Let's say that you have a large worksheet, and you want to track the results at two or three cells all over the worksheet. Follow these steps if you are using Excel 2002 or Excel 2003:

  1. Right-click a cell you want to watch. Excel displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose Add Watch from the Context menu.

That's it—Excel displays the Watch Window, showing the cell and information about it (name, value, formula, etc.) You can add additional cells by simply repeating the two steps for each cell you want to watch.

If you close the Watch Window, you can later display it again by choosing View | Toolbars | Watch Window. You can also delete cells from the Watch Window by selecting the entry and clicking Delete Watch.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2385) applies to Microsoft Excel 2002 and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Watching Cell Values.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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