Excel now simplifies written formulas. Information is lost

ecapo2330 

In that process I have lost information on how the formula was constructed. And in the future I will probably miss that information. I considered to be a drawback characteristic for a software made for precision. 

In general it's not wise to do what's called "hard-coding of values" in the first place. If that term is new to you, here's a helpful reference with reasons not to do it.

Instead, assuming various cells contain values, such as

A1 contains 300

B1 contains 100

C1 contains 31

D1 contains 3

Then write the formula like this =(A1/B1)*(C1/D1)

and the construction of the formula is constant, even while different variables are used. You can always refer to the formula to see how it has used whatever values are in the four cells.

ecapo2330  wrote:  ``I entered =(300/100)*(31/3)``

In my experience, the problem arises when you enter +(300/100)*(31/3) -- a leading plus ("+") instead of equal ("=") -- and the cell is formatted with a currency symbol (Currency, Accounting or a similiar Custom format).

Typically, this occurs when the formula is entered using the Numeric Keypad.

In fact, the simplest work-around is to enter with leading equal instead of plus.

Usually, that means using the normal keyboard, not the Numeric Keypad.

Alternatively, add superfluous parentheses around some numbers.  For example:  +(300/(100))*(31/(3))

Another work-around that I do not recommend is to set the Lotus Transition Formula Entry mode.

However, I do not recommend that because I do not know what all the side-effects might be -- unintended consequences.