How to Show Formulas in Excel Mac: Keyboard Shortcut for Instant View

I spent years using Excel before discovering this Mac-specific trick. It’s the kind of feature that changes how you troubleshoot spreadsheets forever.

The keyboard shortcut is Command + ` (the tilde key), and it toggles formula view instantly. No menus, no settings—just immediate visibility into every calculation behind your data.

You’ll catch errors faster, audit complex sheets with ease, and finally understand why that one number keeps breaking. Works across all modern Excel for Mac versions, including the newest releases.

Fair warning: once you start using it, you’ll wonder how you ever worked without this view.

What Youll Need

Instructions

Here’s the procedure I use to instantly reveal every calculation behind the data.

Press Command + ` (the tilde key, located just below the Escape key on most Mac keyboards). This is the fastest method and works in any Excel for Mac version, including Excel 2016, Excel 2019, and Microsoft 365.

Every cell containing a formula will switch from displaying the result to showing the actual formula. Non-formula cells remain unchanged. Verify the change by checking that cells with sums, averages, or other calculations now show the equation rather than the computed value.

If you only need to check one cell, click on it and look at the formula bar at the top of the window. By default, Excel displays the formula in the bar whenever a cell is selected, even if the cell itself shows the result.

For a more persistent view, click the Formulas tab in the ribbon, then select Show Formulas. This achieves the same result as the keyboard shortcut but is useful if you prefer menu navigation over memorizing key combinations.

For complex spreadsheets, enable the Formula Auditing tools. Navigate to the Formulas tab, then click Show Formulas. This not only reveals all formulas but also highlights dependent and precedent cells with color-coded arrows.

Check that the arrows appear correctly—blue arrows point to cells that feed into the selected formula, while red arrows indicate errors. This visual feedback confirms the formula display is working as expected and helps trace calculation flows.

After reviewing, return to the standard view by pressing Command + ` again. The display will switch back to showing calculated results instead of formulas. Verify this by ensuring cells with formulas now show their numerical or logical outputs.

If you used the ribbon method, click Show Formulas again to toggle it off. This step is critical if you’re sharing the file with others who need to see the results rather than the underlying equations.

For a permanent solution, go to Excel > Preferences > View. Under the Show section, check the box for Formulas. This setting persists across all workbooks until you change it back.

Test this by opening a new workbook—you should immediately see formulas instead of results. If not, repeat the preference steps, as Excel sometimes requires a restart to apply view changes across all instances.

Tips and Common Mistakes

These practical insights will help you avoid the most frequent pitfalls when working with Excel formulas on Mac.

Keyboard Shortcut Precision: The Command + ` combination in Step 1 is case-sensitive to the tilde key’s location. On some international Mac keyboards, this key might be in a different position, so double-check your keyboard layout if the shortcut doesn’t work immediately. I’ve seen users accidentally hit the backtick key next to the number 1 instead of the tilde below Escape.

Formula Bar Awareness: In Step 2, remember that the formula bar only shows the formula for the currently selected cell. If you’re trying to audit multiple cells, you’ll need to either use the keyboard shortcut from Step 1 or enable the persistent Show Formulas view from the ribbon as mentioned in Step 3.

Visual Confirmation: When using the Formula Auditing tools in Step 3, pay special attention to the color-coded arrows. Blue arrows should always point toward the cells referenced in your formulas, while red arrows indicate broken references or errors. This visual feedback is your first clue when troubleshooting formula issues.

Permanent View Caveat: For Step 5’s permanent display setting, be aware that this change affects all workbooks. If you frequently switch between viewing formulas and results, the persistent setting might become more of a hindrance than a help. I recommend using the keyboard shortcut for temporary viewing instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Now you know how to easily show formulas in Excel on your Mac! With just a keyboard shortcut (⌘ + `), you can toggle between displaying results and formulas in a flash. 💡 Try it out on your next spreadsheet to streamline your workflow. Ready to master more Excel tips? Explore other shortcuts to boost your productivity!