Formula Debugging Interview
Find why a formula returns the wrong answer.
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Help me debug a formula by interviewing me first. Open with questions, one at a time, and let me answer each before you continue: (1) the app and version, (2) the formula exactly as written, (3) what I expected and what I got, (4) a few input values and the cell types (number, text, date), (5) whether it works in some rows but not others, (6) what changed recently (inserted rows or columns, pasted data, copied formulas), and (7) whether calculation mode is automatic. What I have: [FORMULA_AND_SYMPTOM]. After the interview, walk through a diagnosis: evaluate the formula step by step with my values (show each intermediate result); check the common causes in order (numbers stored as text, hidden spaces, wrong reference type with missing dollar signs, ranges that do not line up, approximate versus exact match, regional separators such as commas and semicolons, circular references, volatile functions, manual calculation); give the corrected formula; explain what went wrong in two sentences; provide a test on a second case; and share a debugging routine (use the evaluate-formula tool, split the formula across helper cells, check the types with ISTEXT and ISNUMBER, compare with a manual calculation). Do not guess the data layout; ask if unclear.
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