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Common Excel Problems

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I am frequently requested, by my work colleagues, to assist with Excel problems. Over time, I have noticed that the same Excel errors and problems are repeatedly encountered, by different users. Therefore, I have included the following table in this website, which describes a number of commonly encountered spreadsheet problems, followed by methods of resolving these problems. The table below gives a brief description of the most commonly encountered problems in Excel, categorised by the types of built-in functions that they are frequently linked to. Click on the links below to view further details and solutions.


Problems Linked to Date & Time Functions

Functions Error
DAY
MONTH
YEAR 		Cell Contents Appear to Show a Date or Time - You insert a function in a cell, expecting to get an integer as your result, but the contents of the cell appear to show a date or a time.


Problems Linked to Lookup & Reference Functions

Functions Error
LOOKUP
MATCH
VLOOKUP 		Failure to Look Up Values - You are attempting to look up or match a Lookup_Value in a specified Array in Excel, but you keep getting an error - Excel doesn't seem to be able to recognise or 'see' the matching value.
LOOKUP
VLOOKUP 		Function Won't Copy Down to Other Rows - You use a function in one cell and it works perfectly. However, when you attempt to copy the function down to other rows, you get the #REF error.


General Problems - Linked to Any Functions

Excel Won't Calculate My Function - You enter your function into a cell and when you press return, the cell just shows your function, or the cell fails to update the function.






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