Strange References entered by XL when typing formula

[Marc Sloop]

In a fairly large and complex spreadsheet, I have a strange problem
wherein if I'm creating a formula, and I reference another cell (both
on the same page or on another page), XL automatically adds some
"garbage" references, which I can delete sometimes, but mostly it leads
to a crash. It also appears to cycle back and forth very quickly among
some of the pages before entering this garbage, and if I have another
file open, it cycles between the two windows about a dozen times, then
craps out.

If, however, I use the formula bar and click on the = sign there to
begin the formula, it doesn't happen.

Is the file or the application corrupt? It only happens on one file,
and always inserts the same cell references. I've deleted XL
preferences, but not reinstalled the program. Can you "rebuild" the
file?

Thanks for any and all help

Marc

 

[JE McGimpsey]

In a fairly large and complex spreadsheet, I have a strange problem
wherein if I'm creating a formula, and I reference another cell (both
on the same page or on another page), XL automatically adds some
"garbage" references, which I can delete sometimes, but mostly it leads
to a crash. It also appears to cycle back and forth very quickly among
some of the pages before entering this garbage, and if I have another
file open, it cycles between the two windows about a dozen times, then
craps out.

If, however, I use the formula bar and click on the = sign there to
begin the formula, it doesn't happen.

Is the file or the application corrupt? It only happens on one file,
and always inserts the same cell references. I've deleted XL
preferences, but not reinstalled the program. Can you "rebuild" the
file?

The most reliable way to rebuild the file is to select all or the used
cells on a sheet, copy them, and paste them into a sheet in a clean
workbook.

If you have links to other sheets, do a Find/Replace to change them to
your new workbook's sheets.