XL97: Link in Merged Cell Is Not Recalculated on Copied Sheet

ID: Q182873

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

A formula in a merged cell that contains a reference to a cell that contains another formula does not appear to be updated when the referenced value changes.

CAUSE

This problem is a screen redraw problem rather than a calculation problem. You can verify this by selecting a range of cells including the cell with the incorrect value and checking the sum in the status bar. That sum reflects the correct cell value.

This problem may occur when the following conditions are true:

You merge the cell that contains the formula with another cell.
NOTE: To merge the cells, select them, and then click Merge And Center on the Formatting toolbar).
```
    -and-
```
The merged cell references a cell that contains a formula that is linked to at least one other cell on another sheet.
```
    -and-
```
You copy the sheet with the merged cell as a new sheet in the workbook by clicking Move Copy on the Edit menu and clicking Copy.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, do either of the following:

Select the cell that is not updated with the correct value, click the formula bar and press ENTER.
```
    -or-
```
Save and close the workbook after you copy the sheet. Then, reopen the workbook after the value is updated.

STATUS

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

MORE INFORMATION

You can force the cell to be updated by selecting another sheet or another area of the sheet and then selecting the cell again. However further changes may not be reflected until the screen is redrawn again.

If you create another cell reference to the merged cell with the link, the problem does not occur. If you then remove the cell reference to the merged cell the problem does not occur.

REFERENCES

For more information about merging cells, click Contents And Index on the Help menu, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text

   merging, cells

and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Merge cells to span several columns or rows" topic. If you are unable to find the information you need, ask the Office Assistant.

Additional query words: XL97

Keywords          : kbdta xlformat xlformula 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbpending

Last Reviewed: November 6, 1998