XL98: Microsoft Excel Inserts a Defined Name in Formula

• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, if you type a formula and click a cell in order to add the cell address to the formula, a defined name may appear in the formula instead of the address of the cell you clicked.

CAUSE

This behavior may occur if the cell you click is a cell that is referenced by a defined name. In this case, Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition inserts the valid defined name.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, manually type the cell address in the formula. For example, to type a formula in cell B1, instead of typing an equal sign (=) and clicking cell A1, type "=A1" (without the quotation marks), and then press RETURN.

It is not possible to prevent Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition from inserting the defined name if you click a cell that is referenced by a defined name.

MORE INFORMATION

In earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, if you click a cell while typing a formula, the relative address of the cell appears in the formula. This is true even if the cell you click is referred by one or more defined names.

Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition behaves differently. If you click a cell while typing a formula, the relative address of the cell appears in the formula unless the cell is referred by a defined name. If the cell is referred by a defined name, the defined name appears in the formula instead of the cell address.

Example

To see an example of this behavior, follow these steps:

1. In a new worksheet in Microsoft Excel, type the value 1 in cell A1. Type the value 2 in cell A2.

2. With cell A1 selected, point to Name on the Insert menu, and then click Define.

3. In the Names In Workbook box, type "Test" (without the quotation marks), and click OK.

4. Select cell C5.

5. Type an equal sign, click cell A1, and then press RETURN.

   In Microsoft Excel 5.0, the formula in cell C5 is "=A1"(without the quotation marks). In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, the formula in cell C5 is "=Test" (without the quotation marks).

6. Select cell C6. Type an equal sign, click cell A2, and then press RETURN.

   In Microsoft Excel 5.0 and Microsoft Excel 98, the formula in cell C6 is "=A2" (without the quotation marks). Note that this is true in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition because no defined name refers to cell A2.