How To Quickly Find A Circular Reference In Microsoft Excel

Direct reference: The formula refers to the cell it’s being written in. Indirect reference: The formula refers to another cell that refers to the cell the formula is being written in.

Select the cell with the circular reference error. Click the Formulas tab. Click Trace Precedents to see what cells the formula uses. Click Trace Dependents to see what cells have formulas referencing the cell you selected.

Windows: Click the File tab. Click Options in the left sidebar. Click Formulas in the Options window’s sidebar. Mac: Click the Excel menu bar item. Click Preferences in the drop down menu. Select Calculation.

Increasing the Maximum Iterations or decreasing the Maximum Change will increase the calculation time.