Say the number from which you want to deduct D5's value is 27. In D4 enter:
=27-D5

Hope this helps
Rowan

hell no wrote:
i want to be able to change the numerical value of a cell that contains
a formula.

basically, if i have a # in cell D4, i want it to be deducted by the #
in cell D5. so the formula in D4 would look like this =-D5.

the problem is that if i enter a number into D4 then enter the formula
into the formula bar the number enter in D4 defaults to 0. if i enter
the formula first then the number, it erases the formula.

any ideas?

thanks!
rick