Why does excel display the formula in the cell and not the value?

[bsagal]

Hello,

I am using a Concatenate function

=Concatenate(E9,H9)

However, in the cell it displays just that without the value.

When i open a blank spreadsheet and do it, it works fine but for some reason on my working sheet it shows the formula.

Any ideas what the problem is?

Thanks!

 

[fneily]

Check to see if there's a check next to Formulas in the Options window. Tools - Options - Window Options - Formulas.

 

[bsagal]

Thanks for your reply.

It's unchecked, the problem must be something else.

Any ideas what the problem may be, perhaps the 2 parents cells must have the same formatting?

 

[Auger282]

make sure the format of the cell is general and not text...


btw a quick switch between turning formula view on and off is Ctrl + ~

 

[bsagal]

Thanks for your reply.

They are all in general format, for some reason now when i erase teh cell values and type the EXACT same thing again it work.....Excel confuses me sometimes....

thanks for all your help!

 

[rss01]

bsagal,

It sounds like the format of the cell was TEXT. But just changing the format does not actually change the cell unless you activate the data. Next time try changing the cell format then click at the end of the data in the cell and press the ENTER key.

I have this same issue all the time and that’s how I get around it.

 

[BlueHorizon]

bsagal,
Sometimes it's just a fluke. I've had to insert a new column, enter the formula, and see if it works. If it does, I delete the original column and keep moving ahead.
HTH,

Best,
Blue Horizon

http://www.bluehorizontraining.com

 

[byundt]

If you type the formula (including any cell references) but start with a blank space before the = sign, then you get text rather than formula.

 

[macropod]

Hi bsagal,

Now that you've got the formatting issues sorted out, instead of:
=Concatenate(E9,H9)
try using:
=E9&H9
It's shorter and does the same thing.

Cheers

 

[BlueHorizon]

Hi again,
Or you could use =E9&" "&H9 to get a space between the cell contents when combined.


Best,
Blue Horizon

http://www.bluehorizontraining.com

 

[doxiepup]

If you start with a space (or any other text) --even if you then erase it and replace it with an equal sign--the computer thinks there is "text" in that cell.

You must start all formulas with an equal sign as the very first keystroke so the computer will recognize the contents of that cell as a formula.

 

[swtrader]

This is a recurring problem for me. I want "A - Apple" in Column C from two columns: Column A = "A"; Column B = "Apple". I want to add the hyphen.

I've tried =A1&" - "&B1; =concatenate(A1," - ",B1)

I've reset column C to 'general'.

Nothing works. I still end up with only the formula.

????

 

[rss01]

Once you reset your field to GENERAL, click behind your formula than exit the field and it should change it.

 

[BenRowe]

There's an option: Tools, Option, View, Window Options, make sure formula is not checked.