display formula expression with inputs rather that its result

Question

Suppose Cell A1 contains the value 2 and Cell A2 contains the value 3.

Suppose Cell A3 has the formula =A1*A2.

Instead of A3 showing the product of the numbers in A1 and A2, I'd like it to show "2*3".

So that e.g. if I change the value in A1 to 7, A3 should now show 7*3. Can this be done?

Answer 1

If you want to show formula instead of the result, you can press Ctrl+` or Cmd+` to toggle them.

If you only need to show that expression in that particular cell all the time, try this:

=A1&"*"&A2

Answer 2

You can also use:

=A1&CHAR(42)&A2