As businesses and organizations grow, so does the amount of data they accumulate. Excel has been a popular tool used to manage this data, but Google Sheets has become a more popular option due to its accessibility and collaboration features. One crucial skill to master in Google Sheets is pulling information from another sheet. In this article, we will discuss the art of pulling information from another sheet in Google Sheets.
The Basics of Pulling Information from Another Sheet
To begin, you must have two Google Sheets open – the sheet with the information you wish to pull (the source sheet), and the sheet you want to copy that information to (the destination sheet). To pull information from the source sheet to the destination sheet, you must use the “=” sign and the name of the source sheet followed by an exclamation point “!” and the cell range you wish to copy.
For example, if you wish to pull information from cell B3 to C1 in your destination sheet, you would type “=Sheet1!B3” in cell C1. This command instructs Google Sheets to copy the information in cell B3 from Sheet1 to cell C1 in your current sheet.
Using Named Ranges to Pull Information
It can become challenging to continually refer to cells in the source sheet when copying information to the destination sheet. A workaround is to use named ranges.
To use named ranges, highlight the range of cells you wish to reference in the source sheet, right-click, and select “Define named range.” Give the range a descriptive name, such as “SalesData,” and click “Done.” You can now use this name to refer to this range of cells instead of the cell coordinates.
For example, instead of typing “=Sheet1!B3” to reference a cell, you could type “=SalesData” if you defined the named range for cells B3:B20 in the source sheet.
Using the INDIRECT Function
The INDIRECT function is useful when copying information from multiple sheets that follow a pattern. For example, if you have a sheet for each month’s sales data, and you want to copy the total sales from each sheet to a summary sheet, you can use the INDIRECT function.
In the destination sheet, type “=INDIRECT(“‘”&A1&”‘!B3″)” if the sheet’s name is in cell A1, and you wish to copy the information in cell B3. This command creates a reference to a specific sheet based on the text in cell A1. If cell A1 contains the text “January,” this command refers to the sheet named “January.”
Conclusion
Mastering the art of pulling information from another sheet in Google Sheets can save you time and improve your data management capabilities. Using simple commands such as ‘=”‘ and “‘!” and learning more advanced skills like named ranges and the INDIRECT function, you can streamline data entry and management in your Google Sheets. Remember to save time to practice these skills for a more efficient workflow in the future.
