How to show (formula) relationships between cells in Excel?
If there are multiple formulas in your worksheet, and now you want to display the formula relationships between the cells, which means you need to trace the precedents and dependents between cells. In this article, I introduce the tricks which can do you a favor.
Show relationships between cells with Trace Precedents or Trace Dependents
Show relationships between cells with Kutools for Excel
Show relationships between cells with Trace Precedents or Trace Dependents
In Excel, you can apply Trace Precedents and Trace Dependents functions to show the relationships between cells.
1. Select a cell which you want to trace the precedents or dependent.
2. Click Formulas > Trace Precedents/Trace Dependents. See screenshot:
Tip:
Trace Precedent: Show arrows that indicate which cells affect the value of the selected cell
Trace Dependents: Show arrows that indicate which cells are affected by the value of the selected cell.
And now the relationship between cells has been shown:
Notes:
(1) If the active cell doesn’t contain a formula with valid references, or not be referred by any formulas, warning dialog boxes will pops out as below screenshot shown:
(2) For removing these arrows, please click Formulas > Remove Arrows.
But with this method, you only can show one relationship with one step, if there are hundreds of formulas, this way must be tedious and time-wasted. In this case, you can move on the next method.
Show relationships between cells with Kutools for Excel
With Kutools for Excel, you can quickly show all relationships among cells in a range, and also can automatically display the formula relationship in real time with the Trace Precedents and Dependents utility.
| Kutools for Excel, with more than 300 handy functions, makes your jobs more easier. |
After free installing Kutools for Excel, please do as below:
Click Kutools > More, then choose one option as you need. See screenshot:
Now when you click a cell or a range, the relationships between cells have been shown in real time.
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