Excel cell only updates after a second cell has been changed

Question

Update: File

Upon request, I am including the link to the file: here . File no longer available

I have transformed my original data into a game-like context, in which the sheet keeps track of points for completed activities and upon reaching various point amounts, the user goes up in rank. An easy way to see the issue is to enter a 1 (and then 2 and 3) into F15 next to the cell with 500. When you do so, notice how the values in Q5:Q6 change from 0 to 1, but Ranking in C2 which is the SUM function which counts this range does not increase to 3 like it should. And consequently the values in L12 and L14 which are based on it also don't update. Now, if you recalculate, the rank goes up and the L cells update. NOW, cell E3 which is based on the L cells doesn't reflect the correct value, and you have to once again recalculate the sheet for it to update.

Hope all that makes sense - let me know if you need any clarification!

Original Question

Some of my formulas are not updating right away after I have entered in data. Just to get this out of the way before someone suggests it, I DO have the calculation of the workbook set to automatic, and I DON'T open any other workbooks with their calculation method set to manual. So that's not the issue.

I would give specifics on formulas, but I don't think it has anything to do with that. The formula is a simple SUM function which adds together a range. The range updates properly - as soon as I've entered data, the numbers in the range change accordingly. The SUM function should likewise automatically update, but I have to enter data in another cell or press delete in an empty cell (basically, get the sheet to recalculate once again) to get the SUM function to reflect the changes in the range.

The only thing that I can think is that it's because I've enabled iterative calculation (in File > Options > Formulas tab) in order to allow cells to retain their previous value if a certain condition is true, else update their value. My settings are 1 for Maximum Iterations and the default of 0.001 for Maximum Change. However, I've used that before without having issues with a simple SUM function. And I have other just as simple functions in my sheet that DO update properly, so I'm a little confused...

Let me know if any more info would be helpful. Thanks for any suggestions!

Answer 1

Originally added to my initial post; moved it to an actual answer so that it could be accepted

So I figured out the solution. From doing a little more reading up on iteration, I discovered that in iterative mode, Excel processes cells one at a time, in a certain order (alphabetical, I think?). So if cell A is dependent on cell B, but cell B changes value later in the process, cell A will retain a value based on cell B's old value, rather than the new one, until another recalculation is prompted... OR, until another iteration starts. So, setting maximum iteration to a higher number than 1 fixes the issue. Since I had two cells not updating in the example sheet I gave you guys, it would need to be set at about 3. In my actual sheet, I had to set it at 5.

Thanks for the thoughts! Hope this helps some other confused soul!

Answer 2

UPDATE : Sorry, I didn't catch that this is for a formula, not function. My bad. I'll leave the answer up in case someone has the same issue, but with a function. Sorry!

Try adding this inside the code:

Application.Volatile

This will force recalculation for the function each time a cell is changed on the sheet in which this function appears.

Reference: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa213653(v=office.11).aspx

Answer 3

You have circular references: cell formula in range S4:AL103 all refer to themselves (under cetain conditions). This will cause excel to stop calculating because it can't resolve the conflict.

You wll need to redesign your formulas