How to show cell reference (as text) instead of value and vice versa in Excel?
Normally formula cells display calculated results in Excel, and it’s boring to click each cell to view its cell reference. Here I will share three methods to show all cell references instead of values and vice versa in current worksheet, and to show specified cell references as text instead of values and vice versa.
- Show all cell reference instead of value and vice versa in the specified range
- Show all cell reference instead of value and vice versa in active sheet
- Show all cell reference instead of value and vice versa in all sheets
Comparison of Methods for Showing Cell References Instead of Values
When reviewing or auditing formulas in Excel, you may want to display cell references and formulas instead of their calculated values. The following table compares the methods introduced in this article.
| Feature | Excel Show Formulas | Kutools Convert Formula to Text | Kutools Convert Text to Formula | Kutools View Options |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Show formulas instead of calculated values | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Show formulas only in selected cells | ✘ | ✔ | N/A | ✘ |
| Apply to the active worksheet | ✔ | Selected cells only | Selected cells only | ✔ |
| Apply to all worksheets at once | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Changes original cell content | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
| Keeps formulas executable | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Temporary display only | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Convert formulas permanently to text | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Restore formula text to executable formulas | N/A | ✘ | ✔ | N/A |
| Requires formulas or VBA | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Best for | Temporarily reviewing formulas in one worksheet | Displaying selected formulas permanently as text | Restoring formula text to working formulas | Reviewing formulas across all worksheets at once |
| Ease of use | Very easy | Very easy | Very easy | Very easy |
Show all cell reference instead of value and vice versa with Show Formula feature
We can quickly show all cell references instead of calculated results of formulas with clicking Formulas > Show Formulas. See screenshot below:
If you need to show all calculated results again in cells, please click the Show Formulas button again.
Show cell reference as text instead of value and vice versa in the specified range
On the other hand, some users may want to show specified cell reference as text instead of values, but not all cell references of all formula cells. Here I recommend you to try Kutools for Excel’s Convert Formula to Text utility and Convert Text to Formula utility.
Select the formula cells in which you want to display cell references as text instead of calculated results, and click Kutools > Content > Convert Formula to Text.
Note: In contrast, for showing calculated results instead of formulas, please select these formulas and click Kutools > Content > Convert Text to Formula. See screenshot above.
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Show all cell reference instead of value and vice versa in all sheets
As we know, the Formulas > Show Formulas can only show/hide formulas in the active sheet. For show or hide all cell reference instead of values or vice versa in all worksheets, please try Kutools for Excel's View Options feature.
1. Click the Kutools > Show / Hide > View Options. See screenshot below:
2. In the opening View Options dialog box, please check the Formulas option, and then click the Apply to all sheets button and Ok button successively. See screenshot below:
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Demo: show cell reference (as text) instead of value and vice versa in Excel
Conclusion
Excel's Show Formulas command is the simplest built-in option when you want to temporarily display formulas instead of calculated values in the active worksheet. It keeps all formulas functional and can be turned off at any time, but it applies to the entire worksheet rather than selected cells and does not provide a workbook-wide option.
Kutools for Excel provides more flexible options for different formula-display needs. Convert Formula to Text converts only the selected formulas into text strings, while Convert Text to Formula restores those text strings to working formulas. For workbook-wide formula review, View Options can display formulas across all worksheets at once. Together, these tools provide greater control over whether formulas are displayed temporarily, converted permanently, or shown across an entire workbook.
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