A stale result is not always a broken calculation engine. It can come from manual calculation mode, a formula stored as text, or a reference that never pointed at the edited cell. We reproduced these cases with the official GridCraft v0.19.1 CLI on macOS. Start with a copy of your workbook and a tiny example; the goal is to identify the cause before changing settings across the entire file.
Establish whether a simple dependency works
In a new workbook, put 2 in A1 and =A1*3 in B1. Our result was 6. Changing A1 to 5 changed B1 to 15 in automatic mode. This gives you a baseline independent of imported styles, named ranges, external links, and a complicated existing formula. If the simple case works, narrow the investigation to the original workbook rather than assuming every calculation is failing.
Check the formula bar as well as the displayed result. A copied formula may point at a different row, and an absolute reference such as $A$1 deliberately stays fixed. Compare the exact reference with the cell you edited. A mathematically correct formula that references the wrong cell will keep returning a perfectly plausible value.
A1: 2
B1: =A1*3 → 6
Change A1 to 5 → B1 becomes 15Inspect Calculation Options before forcing a refresh
We then set Calculation Options to manual. Changing A1 from 5 to 7 left B1 at 15. Executing Calculate Now changed B1 to 21. That reproduces an apparently stuck formula without any broken reference. In the interface, look under Formulas > Calculation; the command catalog identifies Calculate Now as F9 and Calculate Sheet as Shift+F9. On keyboards where function keys control hardware, the ribbon action may be simpler.
If a workbook was intentionally set to manual because it is expensive to recalculate, understand that choice before switching modes. For everyday files, automatic calculation avoids the surprise of looking at yesterday’s cached result. A forced recalculation is a diagnostic step, not proof that every imported formula is supported or that every external data source refreshed.
| Step | A1 | Observed B1 |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic mode, initial input | 2 | 6 |
| Edit input in automatic mode | 5 | 15 |
| Switch to manual, then edit input | 7 | 15 |
| Run Calculate Now | 7 | 21 |
A formula-shaped string may be ordinary text
We entered an apostrophe followed by =A1*3. GridCraft stored a string displaying =A1*3 rather than a calculated result. Pressing Calculate Now cannot turn that text into a dependency. The same distinction appeared when a formula-shaped CSV field was imported during our large-sheet preparation. Inspect the cell type and the actual input before assuming calculation mode is responsible.
On a disposable copy, re-enter one formula without a leading apostrophe and confirm the expected result. Do not blindly remove apostrophes from a whole imported sheet: some cells are intentionally text, including product codes, examples, and strings supplied by other people. A small successful correction tells you what to fix while preserving the original data for comparison.
Separate circular references from cross-sheet dependencies
With iterative calculation disabled, =C1+1 in C1 returned #CIRC! in our test. The formula needs its own answer to produce its answer. Trace the dependency chain and remove the unintended loop. Iterative calculation is a separate modeling choice; turning it on to silence a warning can hide a mistake instead of resolving it.
Cross-sheet calculation worked in the simple case. Sheet1!A1 contained 10, and Sheet2!A1 contained =Sheet1!A1*2, producing 20. After changing the source to 12, the dependent cell became 24. This establishes an ordinary internal sheet reference, not an external workbook link. Check sheet names, renamed ranges, and missing source cells when your own cross-sheet example fails.
A sheet name containing spaces needs the appropriate quoted reference syntax, for example ='Sales Data'!A1*2. Inspect the expression after moving or copying it. If a workbook was imported from another application, reduce the formula to one source cell, then restore the additional operations one by one until the difference appears.
Keep a minimal reproduction for unresolved cases
Record the application version, calculation mode, exact formula, source values, and observed result. Replace confidential values with a small invented example that still fails. Compare a new workbook with the imported workbook, then save and reopen a copy to see whether the problem is tied to loading or to editing.
If the reduced example still fails, consult the supported function signature and the upstream issue tracker. Include whether the formula was rejected on entry or accepted and evaluated to an error. Those are different failure stages and need different evidence. Our checks cover the cases shown here; they do not validate macros, external data refresh, or every volatile function.
Sources and version notes
Feature details refer to the linked version. Follow the upstream release notes when using a different build.