How to unlink cells in Format Control

Based on your description, you’re using Excel Form Controls (Option Buttons) inside Group Boxes to create survey questions, but when you copy-pasted them, all option buttons across different groups ended up linked to the same cell. Is exactly what happens when copied Form option buttons all keep the original Cell link reference.

When you copy a Group Box (Frame) with Option Buttons in Excel, all copied groups remain linked to the same cell by default. This causes all option buttons across questions to write to a single cell (e.g., selecting Q5’s 2nd button overwrites Q1’s value).

Here’s how you can try to fix it:

You do not need to recreate groups from scratch. Instead, adjust the linked cell for each copied group:

Step-by-Step…

 1. Select the Group Box (the frame itself, not the buttons inside it):

• Click the border of the group box (the gray frame around the buttons) to select it.

 2. Open Format Control Settings:

• Right-click the group box → Format Control.

 3. Change the Linked Cell:

• In the Control tab, find the "Cell link" field.
• Replace the current cell reference (e.g., $B$2) with a new unique cell for that question (e.g., $B$3 for Q2, $B$4 for Q3, etc.).
  ![Format Control Example](https://i.imgur.com/5kXJz9l.png. Repeat for All Questions:
• Do this for every copied group box (Q2, Q3, Q4, etc.).
• Critical: Use a different cell for each question (e.g., B2 for Q1, B3 for Q2, B4 for Q3, etc.).

When you copy a group box, Excel copies the linked cell reference but does not auto-update it.

Each group box (frame) should contain only its own 6 option buttons. If buttons from other groups are accidentally inside a single frame, they’ll act as one group.

Each group’s buttons start at 1 (e.g., Q1’s 1st button = 1, Q2’s 1st button = 1). Since they link to different cells, this is safe.

Excel automatically handles mutual exclusivity within a single group box. Just ensure each group has its own linked cell.

Do not set the linked cell for individual option buttons (this is handled at the group box level).

Do not copy/paste without updating the linked cell—this is the root cause of your issue.

Use a Consistent Cell Pattern

• Link all question responses to a single column (e.g., B2:B100), where:
• B2 = Q1’s answer
• B3 = Q2’s answer
• B4 = Q3’s answer
  This makes data analysis (e.g., COUNTIF, SUM) much easier later.

This method saves time (no recreating groups) and ensures clean, error-free data collection.

My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

Hope this will help you.

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