FOR EXPERTS: My links to external workbook don't work.

G

Guillermo Worlicek

Hi all,

For some reason Excel links stop working when I enter them manually.

If I copy /paste links, everything is fine. If I type = then point to cell in the other workbook then is fine (sometimes).

I tried in other computers. Is it possible the workbook got corrupted? Why? Is there a hidden switch?

Thanks for any help

(I am running Excel 2003)

Best,

Guillermo
 
G

Guillermo Worlicek

Thanks for you response Dave.
When the formula fails shows the formula as text (without any text prefix)
 
D

Dave Peterson

Excel likes to help.

Try this on a test worksheet.
Select A1 and hit ctrl-; (to put the date in the cell)
now select B1 and type: =a1

Notice that excel changed the format of B1 to match the format in A1.

Now format D1 as Text.
put ASDF in D1
put =D1 in E1
You see ASDF.

With E1 selected, hit the F2 key and then enter (to pretend that you're changing
the formula).

Excel has "helped" you by changing that cell's format to text.

I don't know of any way of changing this behavior.

I just select the cell, and reformat it to General (or whatever I wanted). I
hit F2 and then enter (to reenter that formula).

Sometimes this feature is nice, sometimes it ain't.
 
H

Harlan Grove

Dave Peterson wrote...
....
Sometimes this feature is nice, sometimes it ain't.
Click to expand...
....

And a company that wasn't apparently stuffed with mean-spirited
software designers would have provided a means of disabling this.
 
G

Guillermo Worlicek

Thanks Dave! This was truly informational. Although I knew about the
automatic format "help" that Excel sometimes does, I didn't pictured in at
all.
 
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