First make sure that calculation is turned on
Tools, Options, Calculation (tab), calculation: automatic
Next use the formula toggle switch Ctrl+` (accent grave)
which is to the left of the "1" on the number row, even on
keyboards that have some other character there.
(same as Tools, Options, View (tab), uncheck Formulas (under Window options)
or in Excel 2007 , click, click, click, click, click, click, click, ..., click )

--
HTH,
David McRitchie, Microsoft MVP -- Excel
My Excel Pages: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/excel.htm


"Beverly" wrote in message ...
I am trying to sort only the left 6 characters of a column. I could not find
where I could select and sort only the first 6 characters so I created
another column 'B' and used the B1=LEFT(A1,6). I used the formula box to
verify format and the result was correct, but when I hit enter only ths
function showed in the cell B1. What am I doing wrong? It's driving me
crazy!