How to track a running maximum (record high so far)
✓ Verified in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3A column showing the best value reached up to each row — peaks, records, high-water marks.
The formula
| App | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Excel | =MAX($A$2:A2) | Fill down; the half-anchored range grows one row at a time. MIN for a running minimum. |
| Google Sheets | =MAX($A$2:A2) | Identical. |
| LibreOffice Calc | =MAX($A$2:A2) | Identical. |
How it works
The expanding range $A$2:A2 is the whole trick (the same one behind running totals and running counts): each filled-down row computes MAX over everything from the top to itself. At row 4 the values so far are 10, 25, 18, so the record high is still 25 — the later 30 only shows up from its own row on. Flag NEW records with =A2=MAX($A$2:A2), which is TRUE exactly when a row sets a high.
Verified, not just documented
We ran =MAX($A$2:A4) in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3 (headless, with forced recalculation) and it returned 25 — exactly the expected result. Every formula here is confirmed by actually executing it.