How to Show Formulas in Excel

Normally Excel shows a formula’s result in the cell, and the formula only in the formula bar. Here’s how to see every formula at once.

1. Select cell E12 to see its formula in the formula bar.

   

2. Press Ctrl + </kbd>. The <kbd> key (grave accent) is usually below Esc, to the left of 1.

Result: every cell shows its formula instead of its result.

3. Press Ctrl + ` again to go back to normal.

You can also click Formulas > Show Formulas to switch it on and off.

Show one formula in another cell

The FORMULATEXT function displays a cell’s formula as text. For example, in cell C13, type =FORMULATEXT(E12).

Result: C13 shows the formula in E12. It updates if the formula changes.