Pointing to Cell References and Errors

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Pointing to Cell References and Errors

Cells can sometimes contain references to a lot of other cells , especially when you use more complex formulas and functions. Also, a single cell can be referenced in a lot of other cells. Calc has a couple of great tools that draw arrows to or from a selected cell, pointing to the other cells that the current cell references, called precedents , or the cells that reference the current cell, called dependents .

Tracing precedents and dependents are great for troubleshooting, because they show you exactly which cells are used in a calculation, making it easier to spot incorrect cell references.

Calc also includes an error tracing tool, which points to the cells causing an error in a particular cell.

  1. Select the cell you want to trace.

  2. Choose Tools > Detective > (Trace Precedents, Trace Dependents, or Trace Error).

Arrows appear, pointing to the relevant references, as illustrated in Figure 22-14.

Figure 22-14. Tracing precedents, dependents, and errors

graphics/22fig14.jpg

You can remove the arrows by choosing Tools > Detective, and selecting the relevant remove item. If you're going to use traces on a regular basis, consider assigning a shortcut key removing traces. See Assigning Shortcut Keys to Menu Items on page 104. Select the Options category, then select the Remove All Traces command.



OpenOffice. org 1.0 Resource Kit
OpenOffice.Org 1.0 Resource Kit
ISBN: 0131407457
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 407

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