Article ID: 175856
Article Last Modified on 8/19/2003
APPLIES TO
- Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition
- Microsoft Excel 98 for Macintosh
This article was previously published under Q175856
SYMPTOMS
When you type a new formula or edit an existing formula in a Microsoft
Excel worksheet, you may receive the following error message:
Your formula contains an invalid external reference to a worksheet.
Verify that the path, workbook, and range name or cell reference are
correct, and try again.
CAUSE
This problem occurs when you type a formula that refers to a worksheet
with a name that contains a left bracket ([) or right bracket (])
character.
WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, remove the bracket character from the name of
the worksheet that you are referencing in your formula.
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.
REFERENCES
For more information about renaming worksheets, click the Index tab in
Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text
and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Rename a sheet"
topic.
Additional query words: XL97 XL98 square XL
Keywords: kbbug kbpending KB175856