Understanding Keep Formula
The Keep Formula setting controls what happens to your formula after it runs. Learn how to preserve formulas, find your results, and re-run prompts.
What is Keep Formula?
Preserves Your Prompts
When enabled, your original formula is saved as text so you can see exactly what prompt generated each result. Perfect for iterating on prompts.
Results Go Right
The AI result appears in the cell immediately to the right of your formula. This keeps prompts and results side-by-side for easy comparison.
Easy to Re-run
To regenerate a result, simply delete the apostrophe at the beginning of the formula and press Enter. The formula executes again with fresh output.
Keep Formula: ON vs OFF
Understanding the difference between the two modes
Keep Formula ON (Default)
- Formula preserved as text in original cell
- Leading apostrophe added to prevent re-execution
- Result appears in the cell to the right
- Easy to see and edit your prompts
- Re-run by deleting the apostrophe
Example
Before: =AITEXT("Summarize this")
Cell A (after): '=AITEXT("Summarize this")
Cell B (result): Here is a brief summary...
Keep Formula OFF
- Formula replaced entirely by result
- Original formula is not preserved
- Result appears in the same cell
- Cannot see original prompt after execution
- Cannot re-run without retyping formula
Example
Before: =AITEXT("Summarize this")
Cell A (after): Here is a brief summary...
Cell B: (empty)
How to Re-run a Formula
When Keep Formula is ON, follow these steps to re-execute a formula
Select the cell
Click on the cell containing the formula text (with the apostrophe)
Edit in formula bar
Look at the formula bar at the top - you'll see an apostrophe at the beginning
Delete the apostrophe
Remove only the apostrophe (the first character) from the formula bar
Press Enter
Hit Enter to execute the formula - the new result will appear in the adjacent cell
Pro Tip
The apostrophe (') at the beginning tells Google Sheets to treat the formula as text. This is a standard spreadsheet feature - removing it turns the text back into an executable formula.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my formula showing as text instead of running?
This is expected behavior when Keep Formula is ON. The formula was already executed - check the cell to the right for your result. The formula text is preserved so you can edit and re-run it later.
Where did my result go?
With Keep Formula ON (default), results appear in the adjacent cell to the right. If you only see formula text in cell A1, look in cell B1 for the result.
How do I re-run a kept formula?
Click the cell with the formula text, go to the formula bar, and delete the apostrophe (') at the very beginning. Press Enter to execute the formula again.
Can I turn Keep Formula off permanently?
Yes! Open the SheetMagic sidebar (Extensions → SheetMagic → Open Sidebar) and toggle Keep Formula OFF. Your preference is saved per spreadsheet.
Need more help?
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