Finding formulas in an Excel spreadsheet can be essential for understanding a calculation or correcting an error. In this article, discover three simple methods to quickly locate cells containing formulas:

1. Show all formulas from the ribbon
2. Select cells containing formulas via F5
3. Use custom conditional formatting

1. Show formulas from the ribbon

The easiest way is to use the ribbon to view formulas.

• Go to the tab Formulas
• Click on Show formulas

🟢 This button works like a switch.

1. Click once to display the formulas.
2. Click again to return to the classic results view.

This mode is very useful for auditing a sheet or spotting calculation errors.

2. Locate formulas with the Go To dialog box

Excel also allows you to locate all formulas with the dialog box reach

1. Press F5 or from the ribbon Home > Search and Select > Go To
2. Click on the button Cells…
3. Select Formulas then validate

🔍 Result: tAll cells containing a formula are immediately selected. This allows, for example, their apply a particular style (different background color), or to do a quick copy/paste of just the formulas.

Note that, depending on the version of Excel, you can always directly select the formulas from Home > Search and Select > Formula

3. Conditional formatting for formulas

The last method uses custom conditional formatting.

1. Select your cell range
2. Go to Home > Conditional Formatting
3. Choose New rule
4. Accounts Manager “Use a formula…”
5. Enter the following formula =ESTFORMULE(A2)
6. Then choose a style (yellow background, bold text, etc.)
7. Validity.

This method is the only one dynamic. Excel automatically applies the style to each new affected cell.

To remember

• The option Show formulas allows a global view of the formulas
• Formula search locates all affected cells
• Conditional formatting remains active with each entry

These three methods are complementary to better analyze and control your spreadsheets.

🎥 Find all these techniques in the following TikTok video.

Related Articles

Find other very useful Excel tips in the following links

• Tools for finding errors in formulas
• Analyze your Excel formulas with F9
• Show formulas in cells instead of result
• How to make an alphabetical list with Excel
• Create a list of numbers in Excel