Reference errors and troubleshooting in Excel - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Reference errors and troubleshooting

Dashboard Goal

This dashboard helps you understand common reference errors in Excel formulas and how to fix them. It shows examples of errors like #REF! and #NAME? and provides tips to troubleshoot and correct them.

Sample Data

Item	Price	Quantity	Total Cost
Apples	2	5	=B2*C2
Bananas	1.5	8	=B3*C3
Cherries	3	4	=B4*C4
Dates	4	2	=B5*C5
Elderberries	5	1	=B6*C6

Note: Formulas in Total Cost column calculate price times quantity.

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Total Sales
  Formula: =SUM(D2:D6)
  Shows the total sales amount from all items.
• Table: Error Examples
  Shows formulas with common reference errors:
  

  Error Type	Formula Example	Explanation
  #REF!	=B2+Z10	Reference to a deleted or invalid cell.
  #NAME?	=SUMM(B2:B6)	Misspelled function name.
  #DIV/0!	=B2/0	Division by zero error.

• Tip Box: Troubleshooting Steps
  
  • Check if cell references are correct and exist.
  • Verify function names are spelled correctly.
  • Ensure no division by zero.
  • Use Excel's error checking tool.

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+-------------------------+
|      Total Sales      |     Error Examples      |
|      (KPI Card)       |        (Table)          |
+----------------------+-------------------------+
|                      Troubleshooting Tips               |
|                      (Tip Box)                         |
+--------------------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

This dashboard is mainly for learning and does not have dynamic filters. However, you can edit formulas in the Error Examples table to see how changes affect errors. For example, fixing a misspelled function will remove the #NAME? error.

Self Check

Question: If you fix the formula =SUMM(B2:B6) to =SUM(B2:B6), which component updates?

Answer: The Error Examples table updates to remove the #NAME? error for that formula.

Key Result

Dashboard showing common Excel reference errors with examples and troubleshooting tips.