Excel Tip: Keep an eye on multiple cells

Do you ever have those situations when you are trying different scenarios and constantly checking to see what effect your twiddling is having on your results?

Wouldn't it be great if you could keep an eye on all of the cells you were interested in, without having to scroll all over the place?

Well, Excel has a nice simple tool to allow you to do exactly that.

The Watch Window tool is accessed from the Formulas ribbon, over to the right hand side of the ribbon.

When you click on the tool, it opens the Watch Window which hovers over the spreadsheet like any other toolbar.

Once the Watch Window is open you can add the cells that you want to keep your eye on by clicking Add Watch... and selecting the cells, either one by one or by selecting a whole range of cells. If you do this, all of the individual selected cells will be listed in the Watch Window. These cells can be on different worksheets and even in different workbooks.

For each cell, the Watch Window lists the Workbook, Worksheet, Name (if you have given the cell a name range), Cell reference, Value and Formula.

As you update the spreadsheet, the Watch Window will provide a live update of the effect on those cells. No more scrolling around!

Before I go, don't forget that Mynda Treacy's Excel Dashboards course is closing on Thursday, so get over there now if you don't want to miss out.



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