{"id":800,"date":"2014-03-21T12:50:20","date_gmt":"2014-03-21T17:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.iqaccountingsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=800"},"modified":"2014-03-21T12:50:20","modified_gmt":"2014-03-21T17:50:20","slug":"jump-to-precedent-or-dependent-cells-in-excel-with-a-keyboard-shortcut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iqaccountingsolutions.com\/blog\/jump-to-precedent-or-dependent-cells-in-excel-with-a-keyboard-shortcut\/","title":{"rendered":"Jump to Precedent or Dependent Cells in Excel With a Keyboard Shortcut"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Excel, the other cells that are referred to in a formula are called precedents<\/em>. Conversely, the cell containing the formula is a dependent<\/em> because it needs the cell containing the data to complete its function. I’ve written before about the ability to trace precedents and dependents<\/a>, But I recently learned two keyboard shortcuts that take you to your current cell’s precedents or dependents.<\/p>\n

Ctrl+[<\/strong> will move your cursor to the precedent(s) of the current cell, that is, the cell or cells that a formula in the current cell refers to.
\nCtrl+]<\/strong> will move your cursor to the dependent(s) of the current cell, that is, the cell or cells with a formula that uses the current cell.<\/p>\n

Some of you are asking why anyone would want to do that. Here are three good reasons.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Checking Formulas. If you want to quickly check to make sure your formula is pointing to the right cell, Ctrl+[ will take you to the cells referenced in your formula. Then Ctrl+] to get back where you started.<\/li>\n
  2. If you’re thinking of deleting or changing a cell but don’t know what it will affect, Ctrl+] will tell you if it is used in any formulas.<\/li>\n
  3. Formulas now become shortcuts to help you navigate large spreadsheets, allowing you to jump between and detail sections and totals.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n