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: Dealing with Long Formulas.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 29, 2018)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Anyone who has been using Excel for any length of time knows that some formulas can get quite long. Excel handles them—as long as they are constructed correctly—but they can be a bear for humans to understand. Even after you develop your own formulas, you may have trouble understanding them weeks or months later.
One way to make formulas a bit easier to understand is to use Alt+Enter in the middle of the formula to "format" how it appears on the screen. Consider, for instance, the following long formula:
=+IF($A2=0,0,IF($B2<4264,0,IF(AND($B2>=4264,$B2<=4895), (-22.31*$C2/365),IF(AND($B2>=4895,$B2<=32760),($B2*0.093- 476.89)*$C2/365,IF($B2>32760,($B2*0.128-1623.49)*$C2/365)))))
This formula could also be written in the following manner, with Alt+Enter being pressed at the end of each line in the formula:
=+IF($A1=0,0, IF($B1<4264,0, IF(AND($B1>=4264,$B1<=4895),(-22.31*$C1/365), IF(AND($B1>=4895,$B1<=32760),($B1*0.093-476.89)*$C1/365, IF($B1>32760,($B1*0.128-1623.49)*$C1/365)))))
Now, the broken-up formula appears on five lines, even though it all appears in a single cell. The broken-up formula works just as if it were all on one line.
In addition, if you copy the complete broken-up formula from the Formula bar and paste it into a worksheet, each line in the formula is pasted into a different cell, making it easy to test each part. This is much quicker than copying and pasting parts of the original formula.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3043) 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: Dealing with Long Formulas.
Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!
Excel allows you to edit the contents of a cell in two places—the cell itself or in the Formula bar. If you want to ...
Discover MorePaste some information into a worksheet and Excel helpfully displays some options related t the paste operation. If you ...
Discover MoreWe all make mistakes. Fortunately, Excel makes it rather easy to undo your makes, right after you make them.
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2021-08-04 23:01:14
Gareth Hayter
FormulaSpy (from FormulaDesk) is another Excel add-in that also helps with these scenarios https://www.formuladesk.com/formulaspy/
2021-03-04 19:49:04
Simon B
This is another online tool for formatting Excel formulas:
https://www.formulaboost.com/parse
What's good about this one is that the formatted formulas are still valid and can be pasted back into Excel.
2020-06-25 12:09:47
Christie Bellah
This is perfect, thank you! For one column on the report I'm doing today I need so many IFs that I'd started to wonder if I should create some extra columns to break it up some - just to make the formulas more readable. I like your solution a lot better.
2020-05-13 06:15:28
Mat
Or maybe something like this:
excelformulabeautifier.com
2020-02-06 09:24:35
André Fernandes
Great!
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
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:
Comments