#NUM! ERRORS

Hello dlbibb​,

It sounds like Excel is tripping over recalculation in your large workbook rather than the formulas themselves. The #NUM! error usually means Excel hit an invalid numeric result (like dividing by zero, square root of a negative, or log of zero), but in your case the fact that pressing Enter clears it suggests cached values aren’t refreshing properly.

A few things you can try:

• Force a full recalculation: Press Ctrl + Alt + F9 to recalc every formula in the workbook. This often clears up random #NUM! errors without editing cells one by one.
• Check calculation settings: Go to Formulas > Calculation Options and make sure it’s set to Automatic.
• Iterative calculations: If you’re using circular references, check File > Options > Formulas and adjust the maximum iterations/precision. Too tight a limit can trigger #NUM!.
• Audit formulas: Use Formulas > Error Checking to see if any formulas are producing invalid math.
• Clear hidden corruption: Save the workbook under a new name. Sometimes this resets stale cached values.

If you want the spreadsheet to handle these errors automatically, you can wrap formulas with IFERROR. For example:

=IFERROR(YourFormulaHere, "")

This will return a blank instead of #NUM!. You could also replace the "" with a default value like 0 or "Error" depending on what makes sense for your sheet.

Since your workaround is just re‑entering the cell, the most effective fix is usually the Ctrl + Alt + F9 full recalculation. That way you don’t have to chase down each error manually, and adding IFERROR gives you a safety net if any invalid math slips through.