Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 22 hours ago
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Hardcoded numbers hiding inside Excel formulas are almost impossible to find. Go To Special won't catch them, because the cell is a formula. This video shows how to highlight every one of them automatically.
A budget file can look completely clean and still be wrong. Someone types a rate straight into a calculation instead of referencing the input cell, then forgets to update it. The formula still looks normal. Nothing errors out.
In this video I show you how to combine three things to spot them: FORMULATEXT to pull the formula out as text, REGEXTEST to check that text against a pattern, and conditional formatting so every risky formula highlights itself. No helper columns, no VBA, no add-ins.
I also cover the part most tools get wrong. Not every number inside a formula is a mistake. The 0 in ROUND sets decimal places. INDEX needs row and column numbers. Dividing by 12 turns an annual figure into a monthly one. So the file includes two regex patterns, one strict and one with a longer exception list, plus a dropdown to switch between them.
At the end I show the Copilot version if you have a license, and the AI prompt for tuning the pattern to your own rules.
Note: REGEXTEST needs Microsoft 365 or Excel for the web. It is not in Excel 2024, 2021, 2019 or earlier.
📂 GET THE FILE
xelplus.com/find-hardcoded-values-excel/#download
Excel Regex Functions: xelplus.com/regex-in-excel
Good resource to understand Regex patterns: regexone.com
FINANCIAL ANALYST course: xelplus.com/course/learn-financial-analysis
⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The report that looks clean but isn't
0:18 Find hardcoded numbers typed into cells
0:40 Why Go To Special misses numbers inside formulas
1:36 Not every number in a formula is a problem
2:32 The two regex patterns explained
3:30 FORMULATEXT: pull the formula out as text
3:58 REGEXTEST: check the formula against a pattern
4:38 Highlight them all with conditional formatting
5:55 Add exceptions for numbers you use on purpose
6:26 Switch patterns with a dropdown and XLOOKUP
7:46 What regex won't catch
8:16 The Copilot version
8:58 What's the worst one you've found?
📨 Subscribe to "Between the Sheets" newsletter to stay on top of office tips and Excel hacks: link.xelplus.com/yt-d-newsletter
🔓 Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCJtUOos_MwJa_Ewii-R3cJA/join
🎬 LINKS to related videos:
Introducing REGEX Excel Functions: youtu.be/YFnXV2be9eg
📲 Let’s connect on social:
Instagram: instagram.com/lgharani
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/leilagharani
#Excel
500,000+ people have taken our courses so far. If you want to go deeper: 👉 link.xelplus.com/yt-d-all-courses
Hardcoded numbers hiding inside Excel formulas are almost impossible to find. Go To Special won't catch them, because the cell is a formula. This video shows how to highlight every one of them automatically.
A budget file can look completely clean and still be wrong. Someone types a rate straight into a calculation instead of referencing the input cell, then forgets to update it. The formula still looks normal. Nothing errors out.
In this video I show you how to combine three things to spot them: FORMULATEXT to pull the formula out as text, REGEXTEST to check that text against a pattern, and conditional formatting so every risky formula highlights itself. No helper columns, no VBA, no add-ins.
I also cover the part most tools get wrong. Not every number inside a formula is a mistake. The 0 in ROUND sets decimal places. INDEX needs row and column numbers. Dividing by 12 turns an annual figure into a monthly one. So the file includes two regex patterns, one strict and one with a longer exception list, plus a dropdown to switch between them.
At the end I show the Copilot version if you have a license, and the AI prompt for tuning the pattern to your own rules.
Note: REGEXTEST needs Microsoft 365 or Excel for the web. It is not in Excel 2024, 2021, 2019 or earlier.
📂 GET THE FILE
xelplus.com/find-hardcoded-values-excel/#download
Excel Regex Functions: xelplus.com/regex-in-excel
Good resource to understand Regex patterns: regexone.com
FINANCIAL ANALYST course: xelplus.com/course/learn-financial-analysis
⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The report that looks clean but isn't
0:18 Find hardcoded numbers typed into cells
0:40 Why Go To Special misses numbers inside formulas
1:36 Not every number in a formula is a problem
2:32 The two regex patterns explained
3:30 FORMULATEXT: pull the formula out as text
3:58 REGEXTEST: check the formula against a pattern
4:38 Highlight them all with conditional formatting
5:55 Add exceptions for numbers you use on purpose
6:26 Switch patterns with a dropdown and XLOOKUP
7:46 What regex won't catch
8:16 The Copilot version
8:58 What's the worst one you've found?
📨 Subscribe to "Between the Sheets" newsletter to stay on top of office tips and Excel hacks: link.xelplus.com/yt-d-newsletter
🔓 Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCJtUOos_MwJa_Ewii-R3cJA/join
🎬 LINKS to related videos:
Introducing REGEX Excel Functions: youtu.be/YFnXV2be9eg
📲 Let’s connect on social:
Instagram: instagram.com/lgharani
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/leilagharani
#Excel
