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Relative formula not updating properly

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    Relative formula not updating properly

    Hello All!

    I've just updated to Excel 2016, and found that my relative formulas aren't working properly any more. Has anything changed in 2016 that would cause this?

    I have a simple running balance formula that takes the balance from the cell above (Col E), adds income on the same line (Col C), and subtracts the expense from the same line (Col D).

    So, with the starting balance in E2, E3=E2+C3-D3

    It copied down with no problem, advancing the line number in each row. However, when I delete a row, the formula is not fully corrected. For example, if I delete row 10, the new E10 (which was E11=E10+C11-D11) is now E10=#REF!+C10-D10 when it should be C9+C10-D10.

    Any ideas why this would happen? Am I doing something wrong?

    Thanks!

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    Forum Expert leelnich's Avatar
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    Re: Relative formula not updating properly

    Hi Coronos- That's by design, as there's no clear alternative when a reference is deleted. Try this instead (in E3):
    =OFFSET(E3,-1,0)+C3+D3

    You might have noticed an apparent circular reference, but the OFFSET function isn't using the value, just the address, so it works.

    Please click the Add Reputation star below any helpful posts, and if you have your answer, mark your thread as SOLVED (Thread Tools up top). Thanks!-Lee
    Last edited by leelnich; 06-06-2017 at 08:52 PM.

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    Re: Relative formula not updating properly

    I thought it would be clear that all rows below the deleted one would simply have the row numbers in all cell references reduced by one. I'm shocked that in at least 15 years of using Excel I haven't run into this situation before.

    Thanks for the solution--it worked great!

  4. #4
    Forum Expert leelnich's Avatar
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    Re: Relative formula not updating properly

    Yeah, it's strange. There's probably some arcane logic behind it, opaque to us mere mortals. Glad I could help. Thank you for the rep!

    BTW, be aware that OFFSET is a volatile function, so don't go crazy with it. Volatile functions calculate every time ANYTHING changes on the sheet, even non-inputs. This can really slow down calculation.
    Last edited by leelnich; 06-07-2017 at 10:00 PM.

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