XL: Iteration May Not Be Calculated Correctly

• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0

SYMPTOMS

When you use circular reference formulas in a worksheet, the resulting values may be incorrect; it may appear that Microsoft Excel did not perform the specified number of iterations.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the following conditions are true:

• You select the Iteration check box on the Calculation tab (click Options on the Tools menu).

  -and-

• You type a formula that gets a starting value from another cell and creates a circular reference.

  For example, this problem occurs when you type the following:

        A1: 10
        A2: =A3/10
        A3: =A1+A2
  

  -and-

• You decrease the value in the starting cell (cell A1 in the example).

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem has been corrected in Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows.

MORE INFORMATION

To set calculation to the manual setting and select the Iteration check box, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.

2. Click the Calculation tab.

3. Click to select the Iteration check box.

4. Click OK.

REFERENCES

For more information about circular reference formulas using iteration, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel Help and type:

   circular reference