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I am copying and pasting a formula in excel and instead of showing the value it is just displaying the formula. (the formula is ='G:\Corporate[NewOrder.xls]Sheet1'!Q21 ). Is there some setting that I need to change? I have tried the f9 key but it does not recalculate. It seems like sometimes when I past the formula it will work until I place the cursor within the formula and then it is broken again.

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Edit your formula and be sure there isn't a ' before the = sign.

The cell may have been formatted as text before the formula was entered. Select the cell, then right-click and select Format Cells. Format the cell as General (on the Number tab), then click OK. Press F2, then Enter.

Another possibility is that you have accidentally toggled the view to display formulas rather than their results. Pressing Ctrl + ` (backtick, found next to the left of the number 1 on US keyboards) to toggle the view back to normal

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Or a space or anything else – David Pearce Nov 11 '09 at 23:39
+1 Each of these 3 might be what's causing it. Good answer – DaveParillo Nov 11 '09 at 23:59
Thanks for mentioning CTRL+` I hadn't used that before... but I'm sure I will now I know about it! – Richard J Foster Aug 26 '10 at 15:51
Also check out this MS support article describing a bug in cell linking: support.microsoft.com/kb/135506 – Mac Apr 6 '11 at 1:08
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