Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 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: Shortcut for Viewing Formulas.

Shortcut for Viewing Formulas

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 16, 2019)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


1

You probably already know how to display the formulas in cells rather than the results of those formulas, right? If you're like most people, you choose Tools | Options, then on the View tab make sure the Formulas check box is selected.

A much faster way to get the same result is to simply press Ctrl+`. (That's hold down the Ctrl key while you press the accent grave, which is the backwards apostrophe just to the left of the 1 key and above the Tab key.) The shortcut is a toggle, which means that you can press it repeatedly to switch between the display of formulas and results.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2406) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Shortcut for Viewing Formulas.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing the Orientation of Your Chart

Microsoft Graph is a great way to add simple charts to your documents. Once you've got a graph added, you might want to ...

Discover More

Eliminating "Before Spacing" at the Top of a Page

When formatting paragraphs in Word, you have several options to adjust the spacing before, within, and at the end of each ...

Discover More

Creating a Workbook Clone

If you are afraid of messing up a workbook, consider doing your work on a clone of the workbook. Excel provides an easy ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Calculating the Interval between Occurrences

With a long list of items in a worksheet, you may want to determine the last time a particular item appeared in the list. ...

Discover More

Simulating Alt+Enter in a Formula

You can use the Alt+Enter keyboard shortcut while entering information in order to force your data onto multiple lines in ...

Discover More

Totaling Across Worksheets

Want to sum the values in the same cell on a range of worksheets? It's not as easy as summing a range on the same ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is six minus 1?

2019-04-03 23:05:56

Dave

Just wanted to thank you for this tip. It worked great and I appreciate your help.


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.