XL: Formula Moves or Disappears When You Undelete Column or Row

ID: Q176754

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

If you undelete one or more columns that contain a formula by clicking Undo Delete on the Edit menu, the formula in the undeleted column may move down several cells within the column.

If you then undelete one or more rows by clicking Undo Delete on the Edit menu, the formula in the undeleted column may disappear completely.

CAUSE

These problems may occur when the following conditions are true:

There is a numeric value in any cell in the range A18:A65536.
```
    -and-
```
The formula is located in any cell in the range B2:IV16.
```
    -and-
```
You delete any row from row 1 through row 16 (inclusive) by selecting the row and clicking Delete on the Edit menu.
```
    -and-
```
You then delete the column that contains the formula by selecting the column and clicking Delete on the Edit menu.

When you undelete the column, the formula moves down within the column to row 16 (for example, from B3 to B16). When you undelete the row, the formula disappears completely.

WORKAROUND

Do not undelete columns or rows that contain formulas when the conditions in the "Cause" section are true.

To work around these problems, you must manually correct the formulas in the worksheet. If you have previously saved the workbook, you may be able to close the workbook without saving changes, and then reopen the workbook.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

Additional query words: XL97 undo deletion udno redo add back

Keywords          : xlformula 
Version           : WINDOWS:97; MACINTOSH:98
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: January 8, 1999