2.92 FAQ-939 Is there a way to disable cell formulas in my project?

Last Update: 4/26/2022

Origin 2018 introduced the cell formula; spreadsheet-like cell-level calculations. You can directly enter worksheet cell formulas in the edit mode and the calculated result will be shown immediately upon clicking outside the cell. However, you may find it suits your workflow to disable cell formulas in some cases.


To disable cell formula:

  • Method 1
    Select menu Edit: Remove Links... and make sure Cell Formula and Links is checked. This will replace cell formula with their current values. Take in mind that it is a permanent change and no way to revert.
    Remove Links FAQ0939.png
  • Method 2
    To temporarily disable cell formula from calculating to see all cell formulas, click Edit: Edit Mode. Origin will pause calculation until you reselect Edit: Edit Mode.
  • Method 3
    Another way to temporarily disable cell formulas is using a LabTalk system variable @esc. Like the previous method, this will not prevent you from entering cell formulas in the cell but when you use this method, the formula will be simply treated as text and no calculation will be done until the value of @esc is reverted to 1 (default value). 
    @esc=0 // disable cell formulas
@esc=1 // default, allow cell formulas

    For guidance on changing the value of a LabTalk system variable, see this FAQ.


When you suspect cell formula of causing Origin to crash:

In rare cases, we have seen cell formula-related program crashes and when you suspect that this might be the cause, try the following:

  1. Run Origin by launching the program directly from the Windows Start menu or by clicking on the Origin desktop shortcut or taskbar icon. Do not launch Origin by double-clicking on the project file.
  2. Choose Edit: Edit Mode to pause cell formula calculation.
  3. Open your project using File: Open or File: Recent Projects.

If you are able to open a project in this mode where previously you could not, there is a good chance that something in your cell formula calculations is causing the crash. While in Edit Mode, you can try deleting your cell formulas and/or try to save portions of the project that do not contain cell formulas, as new window or project files.

Keywords:cell formula, cell calculation, spreadsheet, Edit Mode, remove link
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