FormulaChop Tab

The FormulaChop Tab

• FormulaChop displays all of its results on the FormulaChop Tab
• Results are organized into sections

Example

Navigate to the ‘B Example’ tab of this file to try the examples below for yourself

Top Buttons

Back

• Go back to the cell FormulaChop was run on

Save

• Save this FormulaChop tab so it isn’t overwritten the next time or FormulaChop is run, or deleted when the workbook is saved

Section View

Sections To Show

Setting	Effect
Info	Cell Info section always shows
Formula	Show/hide the Formula section
Step By Step	Show/hide the Step by Step section
Precedents	Precedents section always shows
Dependents	Show/hide the Dependents section

Window Mode

Setting	Effect
Single Window	Switch the current window to the FormulaChop tab when FormulaChop is run
Separate Chop Window	Open a new window for the FormulaChop tab when FormulaChop is run

Cell Info

The Cell Info section

Address

• The address of the cell FormulaChop was run on
• This cell is also a link back to that cell

Label

• The label which was found for the cell FormulaChop was run on

Value(s)

• The value of the cell FormulaChop was run on
• The formula is this cell is a recreation of the original cell, but it only references the FormulaChop tab
• It is also known as the “chopped formula”

Minimize

• Click this button to hide all the information below the header

Settings

Formula To Show

Setting	Effect
Name Formula	Build formula with named ranges, built from precedent labels
Local Formula	Build formula with local ranges

Tip

Running FormulaChop on this cell refreshes the FormulaChop tab

Formula

Minimize

• Click this button to hide all the information below the header

Settings

Show Formula Section

Setting	Effect
Checked	Show the Formula Section
Unchecked	Hide the Formula Section

Formula To Show

Setting	Effect
Original	Show the formula as it looks in the chopped cell
Name	Show the formula with named ranges built from precedent labels
Local	Show the formula with precedent addresses on the FormulaChop tab

Precedents

Address

• The address of the precedent range
• This cell is also a link to the precedent range

Label

• The label which was found for the precedent range
• This cell is a link to the part of the precedent range which is active in the formula
• This may be the entire precedent range, or a subset of it. (See Cell Highlights)

Value(s)

• The value(s) of the precedent range

Minimize

• Click this button to hide all the information below the header

Settings

Orientation

Setting	Effect
Auto	Automatically determine whether to orient precedents as rows or columns
Row	Orient all precedents as rows
Column	Orient all precedents as columns

Highlight Display

Setting	Effect
Full Precedent	Display entire precedent range with a subset highlighted (See Cell Highlights)
Highlight Only	Display only the highlighted subset of precedents

Label Search Direction

Setting	Effect
Out<-Inside	Search from inside to outside when looking for labels (See Labels)
Outside->In	Search from outside to inside when looking for labels

Orientation and Groups

Automatic Orientation

• FormulaChop uses this method to determine whether to use row or column orientation
  • Count how many precedent ranges are oriented each way
    • A range is a row if it is one cell tall and more than one cell wide
    • A range is a column if it is one cell wide and more than one cell tall
  • If there are more column ranges than row ranges, choose column orientation
  • Otherwise, choose row orientation

Grouping

Opposite-oriented ranges grouped together

• FormulaChop will automatically group ranges opposite-oriented ranges so that they can be collapsed
  • For example, a column range will be grouped if FormulaChop is using row orientation
• If opposite-oriented ranges push other elements off the screen, all groups are collapsed

Step by Step

• Use the Section View button to show this section

General

• The Step by Step section shows the steps the chopped formula takes to reach its final result
• The leftmost cell is the final result, and exactly equals the value of the chopped formula
• Each step refers to the next step, some of the Precedents, or both
• The Step by Step shows the structure of the formula, and isolates the different paths the formula can take to reach its result

Highlighted Operation

• This step is the one in the formula giving the final result
• To quickly find exactly where the final result is coming from, look for the highlighted operation
• If the final result comes is only reached in the final step, no operation will be highlighted

Arrows

• Arrows in the Step by Step section point to all of a step’s dependents

Minimize

• Click this button to hide all the information below the header

Settings

Show Step by Step Section

Setting	Effect
Checked	Show the Step by Step Section
Unchecked	Hide the Step by Step Section

Formula To Show

Setting	Effect
Name	Build step formulas using range names
Local	Build step formulas using range addresses

Known Unsupported Functions

• The Step by Step does not support functions which return ranges of more than one cell
• For example, intermediate steps building inputs to SUMPRODUCT

Dependents

• Use the Section View button to show this section

Summary

• When in Summary mode, FormulaChop will simply indicate one of whether the chopped cell has:
  • No dependents
  • Dependents on the same tab only
  • Dependents on other tabs (and maybe on the same tab)
• Dependents can take a long time to find, so Summary mode is much faster

List All

• In List All mode, FormulaChop finds and lists all dependents for the chopped cell

Address

• The address of the dependent range
• This cell is also a link back to the dependent range

Label

• The label for the dependent range

Value(s)

• The value(s) of the dependent range

Grouping

• Vertically-oriented ranges will be grouped together
• If they push other dependents off the screen, all groups will be collapsed

Minimize

• Click this button to hide all the information below the header

Settings

Show Dependents Section

Setting	Effect
Checked	Show the Dependents Section
Unchecked	Hide the Dependents Section

Dependents Mode

Setting	Effect
List All	List all precedents (can take a long time)
Summary	Only show a summary of dependents

Status Messages

FormulaChop status

• FormulaChop displays its status in the lower-left corner of Excel
• If FormulaChop does not run, or does not display some part of the FormulaChop Tab, an explanation will appear here.
• This message will disappear after 5 seconds, freeing the status bar to display other information

License

• This notice will appear the first time FormulaChop is run if you have a personal license

Automatic Deleting

• The FormulaChop Tab is automatically deleted before the spreadsheet is closed or saved
• See Deleting The FormulaChop Tab for more information