8.2 Working with Circular References in Excel

Makiel [Muh-Keel]

Last edited 476 days ago by Makiel [Muh-Keel].

What is a Circular Reference?

A circular reference occurs when one cell either directly or indirectly references itself in completing a calculation.

Figure 8.7⁠

demonstrates both types of circular references. When a cell contains a reference to itself, it is a direct circular reference.

Notice that with the direct circular reference the argument for the SUM function includes a reference to cell C7.

In the indirect reference example, there are three items that all reference a different item.

Item A references Item C. Item B references Item A, and Item C references Item B.

While none of the cells contain a direct circular reference, each cell references another cell that eventually references back to itself, creating an indirect circular reference

⁠

What is a Circular Reference?

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