XL5: Formulas That Reference Defined Names Not Calculated

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0

SYMPTOMS

If a worksheet contains formulas that refer to global defined names that are located in another worksheet, the formulas in the worksheet may be recalculated incorrectly.

NOTE: This behavior only occurs in Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0.

CAUSE

If the same named cell is used in formulas on several worksheets, and you then change the value in that named cell, Microsoft Excel queues the references to that cell to recalculate the dependent cells. If one of those sheets also contains intricate formulas referring to other user-defined references, Microsoft Excel will recalculate that entire sheet but may fail to continue recalculating the queued references on the other sheets.

RESOLUTION

To work around this problem, replace the defined names in the formulas with cell references.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem is corrected in Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0c.