I have what seems to be a pretty simple problem, but I don't know how to get arround it.

Basicaly I want to create a quiz type spreadsheet that will ask about a word in a language, and upon entering will check if the translation is good or not (kind of like those cards where you have a word in one language on one side and the translation on the other when you are teaching kids for example)

As a base I have 2 columns where the words and the appropriate translations are in (just 10 words for test purposes)

I used =INDIRECT("A"&RANDBETWEEN(1;10)) to get a random word from the list. (in the cell D9)

I type the translation into another cell, lets say it's D12.

I used =EXACT(D12;VLOOKUP(D9;A1:B7;2;0)) to compare what was typed in with the original translation in the table.

Problem is, that when I type in the translation into D12, upon hitting enter, excel recalculates the worksheet, so the value in D9 is not the one I was translating in the first place, thus the exact returns FALSE.

Is there a way to influence the recalculation process (except turning it off, which doesn't remove the problem). I want the value to stay fixed until it the check and only then change to a next one.

Thanks!

Howdy. Any time you use RAND or associated functions, XL will recalculate when completing any type of action, i.e. entering a value. So you will need a different function (don't think it will happen) or you will need to use VBA to get what you want, turning off Recalculation until you determine it is appropriate.