worksheet function - What should I do if I see a reference in Excel cell formulas to a sheet that I cannot see in the workbook?

Similar to 'Reference Data' in the publicly accessible file described below.

There is the Capacity Planning Guide spreadsheet excel file on Capacity Planning Considerations for Windows Azure Caching, it is downloadable.

The fact of the matter is that it contains formulas like ='Reference Data'!F128

Trying to trace precedents of this formula leads me to an empty cell where I just get an The trace Precedents command requires that the active cell contain a formula which includes valid references. exclamation.

Can anybody tell what do such formulas mean and how are they really calculated?

Answer

It's hidden in VBA. Go to the Developer tab on top, and then click Visual Basic.

At the left, you'll see something like "VBA Project (Windows Azure Caching Capacity Planner)

Under that, you'll see "Sheet3 (Reference Data)"

If you look at the properties for this Sheet3, you'll see that "Visible" is set to "2 - xlSheetVeryHidden" which not only hides it, but removes it from the Unhide feature in Excel.