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excelexcel-formulaexcel-2013

Excel cell showing value from formula while still allowing manual entry

I have a column of cells populated through a VLOOKUP. However, I've now been asked to make those cells allow for a manual override, while still showing the VLOOKUP value if there's no override.

Unfortunately there's a requirement to have the override entered in the same cell - otherwise I'd just add a couple of helper columns and it'd be trivial.

Is there another way to let a cell show a formula-based value, accept an override and restore the formula if there's no manual value?

Solution

  • The usual practice is to use an extra cell. For example, put the Vlookup() formula in cell B1 and the override value in cell C1,

    Then in A1 enter:

    =IF(C1="",B1,C1)

    This allows A1 to display either the Vlookup() or the override (if it has been entered)