Microsoft KB Archive/175856

= Error Message: Your Formula Contains an Invalid External Reference to a Worksheet =

Article ID: 175856

Article Last Modified on 8/19/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Excel 98 for Macintosh

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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.



MORE INFORMATION
The following characters are not valid characters to use in worksheet names:

/

?



[

]

