How to Disable Formula Updates in Excel 2013

Formulas that you use in Excel can perform a number of calculations or functions that automate some of the work that you are doing. These formulas often reference cells in a worksheet, meaning that the value contained in that cell is used in the formula. This allows you to enter the formula once and change its displayed value whenever you modify the value in one of the referenced cells.

But if all of the automatic calculations are slowing down your workflow, you might be looking for a way to pause these calculations in an effort to get your work done. Our guide below will show you how to disable formula updates in your Excel workbook by switching to manual calculation mode.

 

How to Stop Formulas from Updating in Excel 2013

The steps in this article are going to stop the formulas in your spreadsheet from updating whenever you change a value in a cell. By default, Excel will adjust the formula result display if a cell that is part of the formula changes. This is fine for small spreadsheets, or less involved formulas, that don’t require a lot of computing power. However, if you have something that is resource-intensive, these formula updates can start to take a while to occur. Turning off the automatic formula updates can save you some time by allowing you to trigger the updates manually.

Step 1: Open your spreadsheet in Excel 2013.

 

Step 2: Click the Formulas tab at the top of the window.

click the excel 2013 formulas tab

 

 

Step 3: Click the Calculation Options button in the Calculation section of the ribbon, then select the Manual option.

how to disable automatic formula updates in excel 2013

 

 

Now when you want to update the formulas in your spreadsheet, simply return to the Formulas tab and click the Calculate Now button. Alternatively you could press the F9 key on your keyboard to force the workbook to calculate.

how to calculate excel formulas

 

Are you having trouble printing a larger spreadsheet? Read our Excel printing guide for some tips and tricks that can simply the process a lot, and save you quite a bit of frustration.