PlanMaker FORMULATEXT: Inspect formulas without executing the returned text

The PlanMaker 2026 reference, 2024 reference and 2021 reference were retrieved and read on October 15, 2026. These establish documented operation in those manual families, not an original introduction or a last-working-version endpoint. Both historical endpoints remain unverified. Specific FreeOffice/mobile editions and every desktop build are outside the checked scope.

The examples are documentation-backed and independently calculated or modeled. No native PlanMaker execution, screenshot, export or import test was performed. The English formulas use commas where multiple arguments are needed; localized names and separators need checking in the installed version.

Cell is one required cell reference. SoftMaker gives an example where A1 contains =SUM(D2:D4) and =FORMULATEXT(A1) returns the text =SUM(D2:D4). No optional argument or default is documented.

Recreate that example on FormulaControl: enter 2,3,5 in D2:D4, =SUM(D2:D4) in A1 and =FORMULATEXT(A1) in B1. A1 is expected to evaluate to 10; B1 describes its SUM formula. Changing D3 from 3 to 7 changes A1 to 14, while the formula text still describes the same range D2:D4.

Do not put the inspector in the cell it is inspecting. B1 and A1 have different roles: one calculates a value, and the other describes the stored expression.

Create LineFormulaText with Quantity, Price, Amount and Formula_text in A1:D1. Enter A:B pairs (3,8), (2,15), (5,4), (1,12) in rows 2:5. Fill C2 =A2*B2 through C5 and D2 =FORMULATEXT(C2) through D5.

The formula column makes the relative row references visible. These are the expected English expressions for the entered formulas; exact whitespace, case and localized presentation have not been natively captured. A formatting difference in the returned string is not automatically a changed calculation.

In a copy, replace C3’s formula with =A2*B2. C3 becomes 24, and D3 should represent that wrong-row expression instead of the original A3*B3. The formula inspector explains the discrepancy that a result-only screenshot might hide.

Create EqualResults. Put 4 in A2 and 6 in B2. Enter =A2+B2 in C2 and =10 in C3. Both values are 10, but FORMULATEXT(C2) and FORMULATEXT(C3) describe different expressions.

In a copy, change A2 to 5. C2 becomes 11, while C3 stays 10. Both cells still contain formulas: a constant formula such as =10 passes ISFORMULA but has no dependency on A2 or B2. FORMULATEXT helps make that structural difference visible; it does not by itself decide which expression is appropriate.

Add E2 =ISFORMULA(C2) and E3 =ISFORMULA(C3). Both flags are expected TRUE. Combining the presence check, formula text and changed-input control provides a stronger audit than any single result alone.

The short reference explains the formula case but does not specify a complete result/error contract for a fixed value, a cleared cell, a formula-empty result or a multi-cell argument. Do not infer an exact #N/A or empty-string result for those shapes from another spreadsheet. Check formula presence first and test needed edge cases in the actual PlanMaker build.

The manual notes that Excel supports FORMULATEXT from Excel 2013. This is an Excel compatibility date, not a PlanMaker introduction date. It does not establish a completed PlanMaker-to-Excel round trip or a guarantee about every older workbook format.

Use the reference C2, not the string "C2", when you intend to inspect that cell. Treat the result as text for documentation or comparison; it is not a replacement for the original calculation. Do not reconstruct arbitrary formulas by blindly concatenating and executing imported strings.

ISFORMULA checks whether a formula is present. TYPE classifies an evaluated result instead of revealing its expression. Preserve source formulas and inspect their dependencies before drawing conclusions from either diagnostic.

Record the exact product/build, edition, platform, language and workbook format. Recreate the original cells, inspect the actual formulas and apply each changed-input control on a separate copy. Verify saved-file recalculation and destination compatibility independently; neither follows merely from a matching displayed result.