When you close the message, Excel displays either a zero or the last calculated value in the cell. And now you're probably saying, 'Hang on, a last calculated value?' Yes. In some cases, a formula can run successfully before it tries to calculate itself. For example, a formula that uses the IF function may work until a user enters an argument (a piece of data the formula needs to run properly) that causes the formula to calculate itself. When that happens, Excel retains the value from the last successful calculation.

If you suspect you have a circular reference in a cell that isn't showing a zero, try this:

Important In many cases, if you create additional formulas that contain circular references, Excel won't display the warning message again. The following list shows some, but not all, the scenarios in which the warning message will appear:

Learn about iterative calculation

At times, you may want to use circular references because they cause your functions to iterate—repeat until a specific numeric condition is met. This can slow your computer down, so iterative calculations are usually turned off in Excel.

Unless you're familiar with iterative calculations, you probably won't want to keep any circular references intact. If you do, you can enable iterative calculations, but you need to determine how many times the formula should recalculate. When you turn on iterative calculations without changing the values for maximum iterations or maximum change, Excel stops calculating after 100 iterations, or after all values in the circular reference change by less than 0.001 between iterations, whichever comes first. However, you can control the maximum number of iterations and the amount of acceptable change.

  1. If you're using Excel 2010 or later, click File > Options > Formulas. If you're using Excel for Mac, click the Excel menu, and then click Preferences > Calculation.
    If you're using Excel 2007, click the Microsoft Office Button , click Excel Options, and then click the Formulas category.
  2. In the Calculation options section, select the Enable iterative calculation check box. On the Mac, click Use iterative calculation.
  3. To set the maximum number of times that Excel will recalculate, type the number of iterations in the Maximum Iterations box. The higher the number of iterations, the more time that Excel needs to calculate a worksheet.
  4. In the Maximum Change box, type the smallest value required for iteration to continue. This is the smallest change in any calculated value. The smaller the number, the more precise the result and the more time that Excel needs to calculate a worksheet.

An iterative calculation can have three outcomes:

Need more help?

You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community, get support in the Answers community, or suggest a new feature or improvement on Excel User Voice.

See also