Blue Triangles

Copper Contributor

What is the meaning of blue triangle on left side of cell in excel, and how can they be deleted?

11 Replies
Are you sure it's blue?
Are you sure you are using Excel?

Yes & Yes@Detlef Lewin 

Then I have no idea.

@Jack_Benson 

Actually all possible triangles in cells are explained here What are those buttons and triangles in my cells? (microsoft.com) . But no blue, only green and red.

@Jack_Benson  wrote: ``how can they be deleted?``

 

I have not seen an answer to your question.

 

Presumably, you are talking about the triangle in the upper-left corner of some cells, shown below, that have a diamond "!" to the left when we select the cell, and that expand to a menu of options when we click the diamond.  See B2 and B6 below:

 

JoeUser_3-1641593372991.png

 

 

BTW, note that the color is indeed blue.  See below.

 

Excel calls this "background error checking".  But they are warnings, not errors. And 99% of the time, they are a misdirection.

 

For example, this warning arises because the SUM formulas in column B (shown in column C) do not reference all of the adjacent contiguous range of numbers.  Well, so what?!  That was my choice.

 

You can choose to click "Ignore Error" for each cell.

 

But IMHO, it is better to disable the feature altogether.

 

In my version of Excel, I get to the option by clicking File > Options > Formula.  The navigation might be different in your version.  Also, the appearance of the option might be different.

 

JoeUser_2-1641593239659.png

 

 

In any case, click next to "Enable background error checking" to remove the checkmark.

 

Also click "Reset Ignored Errors" to remove any warnings (upper-left triangles) that already exist.

 

Then click "OK" to commit the option.

 

Finally, note that the color of the warning indicator can be selected from the menu to the right of "Indicate errors using this color".  The default is green, at least in my version of Excel.  But presumably someone selected blue for your Excel.

 

No matter.  Just a note for everyone else's edification.

 

Sergei,

I had seen this article (your link), actually what pointed me at the "Excel Tech Community" (bottom of article). These "blue triangles" are in cells with only text, and some with nothing in them (??). I've also googled this with no answer that works to delete them,

@Joe User 


 

Finally, note that the color of the warning indicator can be selected from the menu to the right of "Indicate errors using this color".  The default is green, at least in my version of Excel.  But presumably someone selected blue for your Excel.

 


I never really noticed that option.

 

 

@Jack_Benson 

Perhaps you may share small sample file and indicate on which platform (Windows, Web, Mac, iOS, Android, etc) end Excel version you are.

@Sergei Baklan 

 

Sergei, Joe,    

 

My apologies, I had responded as you described with a lot of detail, hit "Post", then went to bed on the 7th, only to find the next day that it hadn't gone and all of my response had been deleted (??).   Anyway, in general, here is what it consisted of:  

    

I'm currently running MS Excel for Mac, version 16.56 on an iMac, OS Catalina, version 10.15.7.   So, unlike Joe's description (from the "File" menu), I was able to access "Error Checking" from; Tools > Auto Correct Options > Show All > Error Checking.   Once there; the "Turn on background error checking" box was checked, the "Indicate errors using this color" was set to "automatic" with the default color being green, and I hit the "Reset Ignored Errors button (several times), but nothing changed in the cells with the blue triangles.   These triangles, instead of being in the upper left corner of the cells are against their left edge (triangle point to the right), and they vary in size.

 

Blue Triangles.png

If I click on one of these triangles I get this MS “Potential Security Concern” window mentioning “Hyperlinks” with a “javascript . . . . .” location (???).

 

Blue Triangle Warning.png

If I right click on one of the triangles I pull up a menu that includes "Edit", "Open", or "Remove" the "Hyperlink".   Opening it does nothing, but "Edit Hyperlink" brings up this window:

 

Screen Shot 2022-01-11 at 4.00.28 PM.png

I can then delete the "javascript . . ." "Address", or if I've selected "Remove Hyperlink" before selecting Edit, it's already gone.   Here's the catch . . . . , the blue triangle is unaffected, still there!   I’ve tried recreating the text (no formulas) that’s in these lines in unaffected lines, inserting them, then deleting the “blue triangle” lines, and I’ve been able to get it down to one line with the triangle.   But if I create an additional unaffected line, insert it in above the now “blue triangle” line, then delete the “blue triangle” line . . . . , the “blue triangle” moves to the previously unaffected line.   I just can’t get rid of it!!

 

I’ve looked back at earlier files from which this one evolved dating back to 2013, and these same triangles are there.   Those files were created using the Excel version that was part of Office for Mac 2011.   I suspect those files and this one have some sort of corrupted cells, or it’s just a difference between the Excel versions, but the reason for the triangles should be correctable, I just can’t find how to do it!!   As it doesn’t seem to affect the functioning of the file, maybe just leaving it alone is OK . . . , buuut.   Any suggestions/help would be appreciated.

 

@Jack_Benson 

Thank you for sharing more details. I'm not working on Mac, nonetheless

- security alert is normal default behaviour, it shall be no formula error indicator due to it

- perhaps you have not error indicator but some objects inserted into cells. If you stay on any such cell, copy formula in formula bar (not copy cell), stay on any empty cell, paste formula in formula bar, Enter - will such indicator appear?

Thank you for the very helpful info.
(My triangles default to blue, in Office 2010.)