Hello,
I'm using Excel 2003 and have files with lots of links. Cells are linked to
an external workbook. The cells in the same column have inconsistent link
results. Some cells display #N/A and some cells are fine. The formulas are
the same, except they refer to a cell in a different row. When I open the
supporting sheet the cells update fine and the #N/A disappears and I get the
source data. When I close the supporting workbook the #N/A returns. The
cells are linking text data.
Would anyone know what is causing this and how I could fix it?
Thanks,
Jake

Could be the cells with #N/A are linking to cells with 255 characters?
Not much you can do about it if you want the full text to appear -
except to open the source workbook.

Bill Manville
MVP - Microsoft Excel, Oxford, England
No email replies please - respond to newsgroup

Thanks for the suggestion Bill, but that's not the case. Some of the cells
contain much less than 255. Could there be something in the text that causes
Excel to display #N/A?

"Bill Manville" wrote:

Could be the cells with #N/A are linking to cells with 255 characters?
Not much you can do about it if you want the full text to appear -
except to open the source workbook.

Bill Manville
MVP - Microsoft Excel, Oxford, England
No email replies please - respond to newsgroup

I guess I must be missing something.

Please post an example of a formula that is delivering #N/A when the
source book is closed.

Is more than one source book referenced and if so are the errors
specific to one source book?

Are merged cells or shared workbooks involved at either end of the
link?

Bill Manville
MVP - Microsoft Excel, Oxford, England
No email replies please - respond to newsgroup

Here is a sample formula:
='\\sh02y291\Resource Management$\6300-50000\Period 3\[MPS Period 3
6300-50000 roll-ups.xls]MPS'!G5

There is only one source book, although I have other formulas with multiple
source books that don't have a problem.
No merged cells and the workbooks aren't shared.
Thanks
"Bill Manville" wrote:

I guess I must be missing something.

Please post an example of a formula that is delivering #N/A when the
source book is closed.

Is more than one source book referenced and if so are the errors
specific to one source book?

Are merged cells or shared workbooks involved at either end of the
link?

Bill Manville
MVP - Microsoft Excel, Oxford, England
No email replies please - respond to newsgroup

Jake wrote:
Here is a sample formula:


Nothing obvious, I fear - but you knew that.
Do the cells in the source book referenced by the formulas that return
#N/A themselves contain formulas?

If so, we might be looking in the wrong place and find that the cells
in the source book (as saved) themselves contain #N/A and so are being
faithfully represented. When you open the source workbook though it is
recalculated and you don't see the #N/A ??

I'm largely out of ideas - haven't experienced this issue myself - or
heard about it from anyone else. The only workaround I can suggest is
opening the source workbook.

I'm willing to look at the workbooks if you would like to send them
(though possibly the problem won't transfer with them). Bill
underscore Manville at Compuserve dot com

Bill Manville
MVP - Microsoft Excel, Oxford, England
No email replies please - respond to newsgroup