Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Office 365. 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

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated June 12, 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:

  1. Select the cell (or cells) you want to watch.
  2. Display the Formulas tab of the ribbon.
  3. Click Watch Window in the Formula Auditing group. Excel displays the Watch Window.
  4. Within the Watch Window click Add Watch. Excel displays the Add Watch dialog box, with the addresses of the selected cells already filled in.
  5. 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 Excel in Office 365. 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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Using Fields for Fractions

Want a quick way to create fractions? You can do it by using fields, as described in this tip.

Discover More

Displaying Properties Dialog Box in a Macro

Word keeps track of identifying and statistical information about a document and makes that information available in the ...

Discover More

Summing Every Fourth Cell in a Row

Need to sum a series of cells that fits some regular pattern? Here are several ways that you can get the summation that ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Understanding Auditing

Excel provides some great tools that can help you see the relationships between the formulas in your worksheets. These ...

Discover More

Creating Add-Ins

Want to create your own add-in? Excel makes it easy to do. Here are all the steps you need.

Discover More

Fixed-Width Settings when Converting Text to Columns

The Convert Text to Columns capabilities of Excel are very helpful when pulling apart information. When working with ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

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.

What is 2 + 4?

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2022 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.