Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Watching Cell Values.

Watching Cell Values

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 16, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

There's a nifty feature in Excel that allows you to keep an eye on the value of certain cells. This is really handy in large worksheets. Let's say that you have a large worksheet, and you want to track the results at two or three cells all over the worksheet. Follow these steps:

Select the cell (or cells) you want to watch.
Display the Formulas tab of the ribbon.
Click Watch Window in the Formula Auditing group. Excel displays the Watch Window.
Within the Watch Window click Add Watch. Excel displays the Add Watch dialog box, with the addresses of the selected cells already filled in.
Click Add. The cells are added to the list of cells in the Watch Window.

You can add additional cells by selecting those cells and then clicking the Add Watch button in the Watch Window.

If you close the Watch Window, you can later display it again by clicking Watch Window on the Formulas tab of the ribbon. You can also delete cells from the Watch Window by selecting the entry and clicking Delete Watch.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6225) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Watching Cell Values.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Selective Summing

If you want to add up the contents of a range of cells based on what is contained in a different range of cells, you need ...

Discover More

Moving and Copying Cells

At the very heart of editing is the ability to move and copy cells in a worksheet. Understanding the differences between ...

Discover More

Specifying the Behavior of the Enter Key

You type information in a cell and press Enter. What happens then? Excel allows you to specify exactly what should ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Converting Imported Information to Numeric Values

If the information you import into Excel is treated as text by the program, you may want to convert it to numeric values. ...

Discover More

Leaving Trace Precedents Turned On

The Trace Precedents auditing tool can be quite helpful in seeing which cells "feed into" a particular formula. The ...

Discover More

Counting with Subtotals

There are a variety of ways you can count information in different groupings. One convenient way is to use the ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 2 + 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.