Forum Discussion

Qyn Bayley-Hay's avatar
Qyn Bayley-Hay
Copper Contributor
Jun 11, 2018

Using the answer from one fomula in another formula

Hi All, just like the title says I'm trying to develop a sheet where a series of formulas are updated when a single cell is given a value. essentially it's a numbering system based on some basic math:

 

I am creating data validation sheets for 20-digit barcodes. Currently I use several formulas to generate the barcodes in the correct format (including converting the numbers to "text" to get around the 16-character limit) but there's still too much manual entry for my liking. I'd like to be able to just type in one number (the starting number) and have Excel math out all the rest. This means drawing upon data from other cell calculations. For example I have a cell [E41] that counts the number of cells with data [=COUNTA(A4:F39)-COUNT(A4:F39)] that returns a value [216]. I want to then use that value in another formula. Is there any way to reference the value of this cell rather than the formula? I'm trying to minimize user input to limit potential fat-fingered errors.

  • Hi,

     

    Not sure I understand your issue. If you use, for example, the formula

    =E41*2

    it returns 512 in your case

     

    • Qyn Bayley-Hay's avatar
      Qyn Bayley-Hay
      Copper Contributor

      The formula I'm trying to use the result from is another multi-step calculation. There's a number in J2, so the formula in K2 (which is my problem) is [=((E41*100)-1)+J2] which gives me a circular reference error.

       

      What other data do I need to provide (which cell's formulas are causing my issue)? I've attached a picture of the reference map.

      • SergeiBaklan's avatar
        SergeiBaklan
        MVP

        Sorry, but from the picture it's not clear how circular reference appears. Is it possible to receive copy of your file with non-sensitive information to check the formulas? 

Resources