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Tip of the Day | Wednesday February 4th, 2026

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Convert Formulas in Selected Cells to Text by Inserting an Apostrophe

This tool inserts an apostrophe (') in front of each formula in your selected cells, turning them into plain text so they no longer calculate.

It's helpful when you want to:

Share or print specific formulas without showing results

Temporarily disable formulas during testing

Create training files or documentation with visible formulas

Examples:

=A1+B1 becomes '=A1+B1

=SUM(A1:A10) becomes '=SUM(A1:A10)

=IF(B2>100, "High", "Low") becomes '=IF(B2>100, "High", "Low")

This prevents Excel from calculating the result and keeps the formula visible in the cell.

Note:
To convert them back into working formulas without manually removing the apostrophes, use this tool in ASAP Utilities:
Numbers & Dates » Convert Numbers Stored as Text to Real Numbers

Tips:

To temporarily show all formulas on a worksheet (without converting them), press Ctrl+` or go to Formulas > Show Formulas in Excel. This view affects the entire sheet and can be toggled off the same way.

To extract a formula as text from a specific cell, use these worksheet functions from ASAP Utilities:
· =ASAPGETFORMULA(A1) - shows the formula using your Excel language settings
· =ASAPGETFORMULAINT(A1) - shows the formula in international English notation

Starting this tool

Click ASAP Utilities › Formulas › 9. Convert Formulas in Selected Cells to Text by Inserting an Apostrophe
Specify a Keyboard Shortcut: ASAP Utilities › My Tools & Shortcuts › Manage My Tools & Shortcuts...

Formulas › Convert Formulas in Selected Cells to Text by Inserting an Apostrophe

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