Display or hide formulas

Microsoft Office Excel 2003

  • Press CTRL + ` (grave accent).

ShowPrevent a formula from displaying in the formula bar

Caution  This procedure also prevents the cells that contain the formula from being edited.

  1. Select the range of cells whose formulas you want to hide. You can also select nonadjacent ranges or the entire sheet.
  2. On the Format menu, click Cells, and then click the Protection tab.
  3. Select the Hidden check box.
  4. Click OK.
  5. On the Tools menu, point to Protection, and then click Protect Sheet.
  6. Make sure the Protect worksheet and contents of locked cells check box is selected.

ShowShow formulas that were previously hidden by removing protection

  1. If the workbook is shared, unshare it.

    ShowHow?

    Note  Unsharing the workbook deletes the change history. If you want to keep a copy of this information, print out the History worksheet or copy it to another workbook.

    ShowHow?

    1. On the Tools menu, point to Track Changes, and then click Highlight Changes.

    2. In the When box, click All.

    3. Clear the Who and Where check boxes.

    4. Select the List changes on a new sheet check box, and then click OK.

    5. Do one or more of the following:

      • To print the History worksheet, click Print Button image.

      • To copy the history to another workbook, select the cells you want to copy, click Copy Button image, switch to another workbook, click where you want the copy to go, and click Paste Button image.

    Note  You may also want to save or print the current version of the workbook, because this history might not apply to later versions. For example, cell locations, including row numbers, in the copied history may no longer be current.

    1. On the Tools menu, click Share Workbook, and then click the Editing tab.

    2. Make sure that you are the only person listed in the Who has this workbook open now box.
    3. Clear the Allow changes by more than one user at the same time check box.
    4. When prompted about the effects on other users, click Yes.
  2. On the Tools menu, point to Protection, and then click Unprotect Sheet.

  3. Select the range of cells whose formulas you want to unhide.
  4. On the Format menu, click Cells, and then click the Protection tab.
  5. Clear the Hidden check box.