That is the normal and intended behavior. The formula is placed in n20 and
the formula says, in English, if the entry in o20 is a 1, then display "yes"
in the cell in which the formula is located, which is n20 in your case. If
o20 is not a 1, display "No". The formula has not gone anywhere, it is
still in the cell. What is in the cell and what is displayed in the cell
are not necessarily the same thing. As in your case. HTH Otto
"Excel 2003 - SPB" wrote in message
...
I have typed the following in
n20 =if(o20=1,"yes","No")
when I type 1 into o20
n20 becomes Yes
the formula disappears it is not the only cell to have this problem
any suggestions?