Simple Excel--WHAT has changed in new version?

Copper Contributor

A12 is the sum of Column A. B12 is the sum of Column B. The formula =Sum(A12+B12) returns 0. All cells are formatted as numbers. Can a cell containing a calculation no longer be referenced in the formula of another cell?

8 Replies
Not sure why you're getting that result. I will say that, although it works and is often used that way, the SUM is redundant. =A12+B12 would suffice. I doubt, though, that that is the underlying issue. You can definitely continue to write formulas that refer to cells that themselves contain calculations. So something else is going on.
Is it possible for you to post a copy of the spreadsheet on OneDrive or GoogleDrive and paste a link here that grants edit access to it? Please do so.
Thank you. I started with =A12+B12. Also makes no difference if use + on keyboard or number pad. Have same issue with =A12*0.18 returning 0 while entering the value of A12 works, which is simply calculation of 2 numbers, not a calculated cell. Found a previous discussion by Minizv on July 13, 2022, with basically the same question and no solution.
I have the computer-based Home and Student version and get the message that my administrator has turned off the Help feature. I am the admin and did not turn it off???

@Nedra1776 

 

Does the attached file work on your system? If it does--which it should--there's nothing wrong with your system. You may have somehow inadvertently set a column to something other than general. 

 

Feel free to post a copy of your spreadsheet on OneDrive or GoogleDrive with a link pasted here that grants edit access to that file. We can't diagnose with just a description that does "It doesn't work."

How can synch be speeded up in OneDrive?



@Nedra1776 

It is clearly stated in the status bar that there are circular references.

The formula in E12 includes E12 itself. And the formula in D12 includes D12 itself.

Change both formulas and everyone is happy.

 

@Nedra1776 

 

 

When we download and open the example file, Excel notes a circular reference in E12.  There is a similar circular reference in D12.  The formulas are:

 

D12: =SUM(D2:D12)

E12: =SUM(E2:E12)

 

When there are circular references, Excel aborts the worksheet recalculation.  That might leave some cells in inconsistence states.

 

That is why the calculations in D13 and E13 return zero.

 

The remedy is to eliminate the circular references.   One way:

 

D12: =SUM(D2:D11)

E12: =SUM(E2:E11)

 

Alternatively, the following formula allows you to insert rows above the SUM row.

 

D12: =SUM(D$2:INDEX(D:D,ROW()-1))

Copy D12 into E12

THANK you. Oops, I used autosum to add up the column and should have checked the final formula. Hopefully, now the more complicated formulas will also work.