Maybe the cell is formatted to have the same font color as fill color???

Maybe the cell has format|conditional formatting to make it look like the fill
and font color are the same under certain conditions.

Maybe the cell has a custom number format (like: ;;;) that will hide the value
in the worksheet.

But those are just guesses. I don't really understand what you mean by "they
weren't previously open".

san-avsc wrote:

I'm having various cells in various workbooks open up with the cell contents
hidden when they weren't previously open. The cells appear empty but there's
a value in the formula bar when the cell is selected. If I copy the
formatting from a visible cell to the invisible one, the contents reappear,
but then disappaer with certain further formatting steps. What is going on?

--

Dave Peterson