Question

I am sure this is a pretty naive question, but I have never done this before, so please bear with me. I have an Excel sheet with multiple columns. For one of the column, I have to add a random number in each cell of that column.

E.g.

Col1 Col2

45    12
34    34
12    12
56    78
78    30

Now In the second column, I have to add something random, say between 0 to 10. I cannot put completely random values in the second column, as all I want is a slight deviation from the already existing values.

I know how to generate random numbers, using RAND() or RANDBETWEEN(). I also know that I can convert it to integer using ROUNDUP() and then SUM() it up. But when I try to do it using formula, it gives me circular reference warning, which is correct.

Can someone help with this? Your help is very much appreciated.

Answer 1

You can’t reference B2 within cell B2 without getting a circular reference. Unless you want to “hardcode” the value for each cell, e.g. in B2 =12+RAND(), in B3 =34+RAND()….I suggest you use a third column with this formula or similar in C2 copied down

=B2+RAND()