Perhaps the cell was formatted as Text.

Format to General then F2 and Enter to re-enter the formula.

Or you are in Formula View and see all formulas as a string.

Hit CTRL + `(backquote above Tab key) to toggle formula view on/off.


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP

On Thu, 1 Apr 2010 13:54:01 -0700, Rich
wrote:

when I enter a vlookup formula into a cell...I hit enter and the actual
formula stays in the cell...SHOWING. It doesn't give an error message but
just displays the actual formula with no action...Help, please!