How to Link Sheets in Excel

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Last Updated: April 3, 2024 Fact Checked

This wikiHow teaches you how to link data between multiple worksheets in a Microsoft Excel workbook. Linking will dynamically pull data from a sheet into another, and update the data in your destination sheet whenever you change the contents of a cell in your source sheet.^{[1]
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Quick Guide for Linking Sheets in Excel

Click an empty cell in your destination sheet, then type an equal sign (=) and click on the source sheet, then the source cell in the source sheet, and hit Enter. Check to make sure that the destination cell's formula has been altered.

Steps

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The Excel icon looks like a green-and-white "X" icon.
You will see a list of all your worksheets at the bottom of Excel. Click on the sheet you want to link to another worksheet.^{[2]
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This will be your destination cell. When you link it to another sheet, the data in this cell will be automatically synchronized and updated whenever the data in your source cell changes.^{[3]
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It will start a formula in your destination cell.
Find the sheet where you want to pull data from, and click on the tab to open the worksheet.
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Check the formula bar. The formula bar shows the value of your destination cell at the top of your workbook. When you switch to your source sheet, it should show the name of your current worksheet, following an equals sign, and followed by an exclamation mark.^{[4]
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- Alternatively, you can manually write this formula in the formula bar. It should look like =<SheetName>!, where "<SheetName>" is replaced with the name of your source sheet.^{[5]
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Click a cell in your source sheet. This will be your source cell. It could be an empty cell, or a cell with some data in it. When you link sheets, your destination cell will be automatically updated with the data in your source cell.^{[6]
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- For example, if you're pulling data from cell D12 in Sheet1, the formula should look like =Sheet1!D12.^{[7]
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This will finalize the formula, and switch back to your destination sheet. Your destination cell is now linked to your source cell, and dynamically pulls data from it. Whenever you edit the data in your source cell, your destination cell will also be updated.
This will highlight the cell.
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Click and drag the square icon in the lower-right corner of your destination cell. This will expand the range of linked cells between your source and destination sheets. Expanding your initial destination cell will link the adjacent cells from your source sheet.
- You can drag and expand the range of linked cells in any direction. This could include the entire worksheet, or only parts of it.

Community Q&A

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Question

In the above linking of rows to multiple sheets, how do I keep the rows in the separate sheets together when sorting?

Azmat najeeb

Community Answer

1. Open a workbook. By default, it has three sheets. If you want more, you can insert more sheets according to your requirements. 2. Press the CTRL key and select the sheet you want to group. Your sheets are now grouped. The changes made to one will replicate on the others.

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Question

What if I want the destination cell to add or subtract from the source cell?

Azmat najeeb

Community Answer

A cell reference combines the column letter and row number, such as A1 or F345. 1.Type a number in cells C1 and D1. For example, a 5 and a 3. 2. In cell E1, type an equal sign (=) to start the formula. 3. Type "C1+D1" (without the quotes) to complete your formula. If your destination cell E1 is in another sheet, then use "=sheet1!C1+sheet1!D1". If the cell D1 is in the same sheet as E1, then use "=sheet1!C1+D1".

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Question

Can you link a completely different Excel file to another Excel file, or does it work only if it's in the same file?

Holly Hort

Community Answer

In Microsoft Excel, you can link data from one Excel file to another, even if they are in separate files. This is commonly done using the "External Links" feature.

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