Excel VBA Rows(#).Calculate not working for cells with circular references

drKBerry 

Dealing with circular references in Excel, especially when you require specific iterative calculations, can be tricky. Excel's built-in calculation order does not always work as intended for complex iterative calculations. Given the issues with the Rows(#).Calculate method not working as expected for cells with circular references, we can explore a few alternative approaches to handle this problem.

Approach 1: Manual Iteration Control via VBA

You can explicitly control the iteration process by manually iterating over the cells and forcing recalculations. This involves calculating each cell individually within each row and then moving to the next row. This is more granular and ensures that each cell is calculated in the desired order.

Here is an example of how you can achieve this:

Vba Code is untested, backup your file first.

Sub CalculateWithCircularReferences()
    Dim ws As Worksheet
    Dim i As Long, j As Long
    Dim rng As Range
    Dim cell As Range

    Set ws = Worksheets("Calculation")
    
    ' Disable automatic calculation to avoid interference
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual

    ' Loop through each row
    For i = 3 To 30
        Set rng = ws.Rows(i).Cells
        ' Loop through each cell in the row
        For Each cell In rng
            ' Calculate each cell individually
            cell.Calculate
        Next cell
    Next i
    
    ' Re-enable automatic calculation
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
End Sub

Approach 2: Iterative Calculation Using VBA

Instead of relying on Excel's built-in iterative calculation, you can simulate the iterative process in VBA. This way, you have more control over the calculation order and can ensure that each cell is recalculated the desired number of times.

Here is an example:

Vba Code is untested, backup your file first.

Sub IterativeCalculation()
    Dim ws As Worksheet
    Dim i As Long, j As Long
    Dim iterations As Integer
    Dim maxIterations As Integer
    
    Set ws = Worksheets("Calculation")
    
    maxIterations = 10 ' Set the desired number of iterations
    
    ' Disable automatic calculation to avoid interference
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual
    
    ' Perform iterative calculation
    For iterations = 1 To maxIterations
        For i = 3 To 30
            Set rng = ws.Rows(i).Cells
            For Each cell In rng
                cell.Calculate
            Next cell
        Next i
    Next iterations
    
    ' Re-enable automatic calculation
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
End Sub

Approach 3: Using Excel's Iterative Calculation with Helper Macro

If you still want to rely on Excel's built-in iterative calculation, but want to ensure that calculations are done in a specific order, you can set up a helper macro to control the calculation process.

Vba Code is untested, backup your file first.

Sub CalculateIteratively()
    Dim ws As Worksheet
    Dim i As Long
    
    Set ws = Worksheets("Calculation")
    
    ' Ensure iterative calculations are enabled
    Application.Iteration = True
    Application.MaxIterations = 1 ' Set to 1 iteration at a time
    Application.MaxChange = 0.001 ' Adjust as necessary

    ' Disable automatic calculation to avoid interference
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual
    
    ' Calculate each row iteratively
    For i = 3 To 30
        ws.Rows(i).Calculate
    Next i
    
    ' Trigger a full recalculation to finalize
    ws.Calculate
    
    ' Re-enable automatic calculation
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
End Sub

Conclusion

Given the complex nature of iterative calculations and circular references, you may need to combine these approaches based on your specific needs and the structure of your workbook. Ensuring that calculations are performed in the correct order is crucial, and using VBA to control the iteration process can provide the precision you need.

If you continue to face issues, consider simplifying the circular dependencies if possible, or breaking down the calculations into smaller, more manageable steps. The text, steps and codes were created with the help of AI.

My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

Hope this will help you.

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