Dead links after paste

1. Open the comps tab before you rebuild anything.
2. Search for #REF! in the peer table, not only in the labels.
3. Count every dead link and write the count above the table.
4. Only then paste a clean range back under formulas that still resolve.
5. Re-run the read-back and confirm the dead-link flags clear by row.

Dead links after a paste are mechanical. Someone copied values over formulas, cut a named range, or dropped a block into a sheet that still pointed at the old grid. Excel announces the failure with #REF!. Reviewers announce it with a question you do not want at 12:10.

The trap is partial repair. Clearing one #REF! while leaving three cousins makes the tab look healthier than it is. Count first. Repair second. Sign third.

A paste left #REF! on the comps tab. Count the dead links before you rebuild the peer set.

Where pastes kill references

• Peer tables that still point at a deleted comps block.
• Index/match ranges whose height changed mid-paste.
• Named ranges that lost their targets when a sheet was duplicated.
• Print-pack pulls that referenced a temporary staging sheet you already removed.

Rebuild order that does not invent new breaks

Restore structure before cosmetics. Get the grid dimensions right. Restore formulas that fetch peers. Only then format. If you format first, you will paste again and recreate the same #REF! cluster under prettier headers.

1. Restore or recreate the source block the formulas expect.
2. Repoint every #REF! to the live range, not to a parked copy.
3. Expand or contract named ranges to match the new height.
4. Spot-check three peer rows manually against the source.
5. Clear the flags in the read-back only after the count hits zero.

What Moraton does with a dead link

It names the row and describes the break. It does not invent replacement comps. Market data stays on your firm's own feed. A person still signs off. Dead links are easy to see and easy to leave half-fixed. Finish the count.

Send rule

Zero #REF! on the comps tab, or the file does not go upstairs. That is the whole standard.