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Lesson 4/4

#REF! and #SPILL!

Exercise 1 of 3

B2 used to be =B1+C1. Then column C was deleted, and it now shows #REF!. Why?

About this lesson

#REF! means a formula points to a cell that no longer exists. #SPILL! means a result that needs several cells has no room to spill into.

In this lesson

  1. B2 used to be =B1+C1. Then column C was deleted, and it now shows #REF!. Why?
  2. E2 lists the regions with UNIQUE and shows #SPILL!. Why?
  3. There's an old note in E3 that blocks the list. Write the same list in G2 instead, where there is room.

Use the arrow keys to move between cells; each cell is read out as you go. Type a formula and press Enter. The sheet is also available as a table below.

fx

Try it out: type a formula in any free cell or change a value. What you type on the sheet isn’t graded.