VLOOKUP or INDEX MATCH Referencing Another Sheet

I would like to pull "Type" from a different sheet by matching the Project #. I've used both INDEX MATCH and VLOOKUP formulas which has worked well!

Here are the formulas:

=INDEX({Program Intake Form Range 1}, MATCH([Project #]#, {Program Intake Form Range 2}, 0))

=VLOOKUP([Project #]#, {Program Intake Form Range 2}, 5, false)

Problem Statement: But the issue is when I copy these formulas into another sheet, I am getting #INVALID REF error. I am able to fix this issue by editing "Reference Another Sheet" and manually re-selecting the columns from the other sheet.

Is there a way to write the formula, so that I would not need to manually Reference Another Sheet?

I have over 100 sheets (and this will grow over time) and I want to automate this formula.


Best Answer

  • Genevieve P.
    Genevieve P. Employee
    edited 05/11/23 Answer ✓

    Hi @Omid

    Cross-sheet references, such as your {Program Intake Form Range 1}, are unique to each individual sheet where they are created.

    This means that when you copy/paste a formula with a reference in it into an entirely new sheet, the reference is just plain text without being associated with another sheet or column. You will need to manually tie in the correct column to the referenced text each time, as you've been doing.

    Cheers,

    Genevieve

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Answers

  • Andrée Starå
    Andrée Starå ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    Hi @Omid

    I hope you're well and safe!

    You would have to use column-formulas in the other sheet for it to work.

    Would that work/help?

    I hope that helps!

    Be safe, and have a fantastic week!

    Best,

    Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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  • Omid
    Omid ✭✭
    edited 04/26/23

    @Andrée Starå - Hope you're having a great week! Thank you for your quick response!

    By that, do you mean putting the formula in a cell within the sheet versus Sheet summary?

    If so, I tried that by just copying "=INDEX({Program Intake Form Range 1}, MATCH([Project #]#, {Program Intake Form Range 2}, 0))" into Sheet #2 and I'm getting the same error. See below.

    But When I go into sheet #2 and manually click "Reference Another Sheet" and select the reference sheet and reference column in the other sheet, then it works:

    Wondering if there is a way to just copy this formula and paste it in Sheet #2, 3, 4, etc in an automated way?


    Thank you in advance!!

  • Genevieve P.
    Genevieve P. Employee
    edited 05/11/23 Answer ✓

    Hi @Omid

    Cross-sheet references, such as your {Program Intake Form Range 1}, are unique to each individual sheet where they are created.

    This means that when you copy/paste a formula with a reference in it into an entirely new sheet, the reference is just plain text without being associated with another sheet or column. You will need to manually tie in the correct column to the referenced text each time, as you've been doing.

    Cheers,

    Genevieve

    Need more help? 👀 | Help and Learning Center

    こんにちは (Konnichiwa), Hallo, Hola, Bonjour, Olá, Ciao! 👋 | Global Discussions

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