existing spreadsheets have started putting a line through calculated values

Hi Rusty,

From what you described, this most often happens when Excel is no longer recalculating formulas automatically. When calculation is set to Manual, formula results can appear “stuck,” even though the formulas themselves are still intact. The line you’re seeing is typically just strikethrough formatting and it doesn’t stop formulas from calculating, but it can make the issue more confusing.

Here are a few things to check first:

• Verify calculation mode Go to Formulas > Calculation Options and make sure it’s set to Automatic (not Manual). If Excel shows Calculate or Calculate Workbook in the status area, that usually means it’s waiting for a manual recalculation.
• Force a recalculation Press F9 to recalculate. On Mac, you may need Fn + F9, or use Formulas > Calculate Now from the ribbon.
• Confirm Show Formulas is off Go to Formulas and make sure Show Formulas is not enabled. When it’s on, Excel displays formula text instead of results, which can look like calculations have stopped.
• Rule out Text formatting Right‑click one of the affected cells, choose Format Cells, and confirm it’s not set to Text. If you change the format, press F2, then Enter to force Excel to re‑evaluate the formula.
• Clear formatting if needed If the line only appears in some cells, try Home > Clear > Clear Formats to rule out normal manual strikethrough formatting.

If this happens in all workbooks, try opening a new blank workbook and test a simple formula. If formulas still don’t recalculate, an Office Quick Repair is a good next step, followed by an Online Repair if needed.

To help narrow this down, could you let us know:

• Are you using Excel on Windows or Mac?
• Does F9 / Calculate Now update the values?
• Does this happen in one workbook or all workbooks?

Please let me know if this proves useful to you, or if you would like further assistance.

I'm looking forward to your reply.

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Strikethrough formatting does not stop formulas from calculating, so the issue is almost certainly that calculation or formula display settings have changed, or that the cells are formatted as text and no longer recalculating.

Try these checks in order:

1. Verify formulas are actually being calculated
   1. Go to File > Options > Formulas.
   2. In Calculation options under Workbook Calculation, make sure Automatic is selected (not Manual).
   3. Click OK, then change a precedent cell and confirm the result updates.
2. Make sure Excel is not showing formulas instead of results
   1. Go to the Formulas tab.
   2. In Formula Auditing, check Show Formulas.
   3. If it is turned on, click it to turn it off. Alternatively, press Ctrl + ` to toggle. When Show Formulas is on, cells display the formula text and appear not to calculate.
3. Check that the cells are not formatted as Text
   1. Right‑click a cell that should show a calculated value and choose Format Cells.
   2. If the category is Text, change it to General (or another numeric format as needed).
   3. After changing the format, press F2 in that cell and then Enter to force recalculation.
   4. If many cells are affected in a column:
      • Select the whole range.
      • Apply the desired number format.
      • Go to Data > Text to Columns > Finish to re‑interpret the entries as numbers/formulas.

If after these steps the values still do not update, force a full recalculation of all open workbooks with Ctrl+Alt+F9.

The strikethrough line itself is just formatting; once automatic calculation is enabled, formulas are shown (not their syntax), and the cells are not Text, the calculations should resume even if the text is formatted with a line through it.

References:

• How to avoid broken formulas in Excel
• Custom function may not calculate expected value in Excel
• VALUE is Excel's way of saying, "There's something wrong with the way your formula is typed. Or, there's something wrong with the cells you are referencing." The error is very general, and it can be hard to find the exact cause of it. The information on this page shows common problems and solutions for the error.