Strategies for Managing Column Counting in Workarounds for Smartsheet Cross-Sheet Reference Limits?

alamn

Hello Smartsheet community,

I've hit the limit of cross-sheet references allowed in Smartsheet, which has led me to adopt a workaround using formulas like =INDEX({Cross-Sheet Range}, MATCH(target_value, {Match_Range}, 0), column_index). This solution allows me to continue referencing data across sheets without adding more cross-sheet references. However, this method requires manually counting columns to determine the correct column_index, which is prone to errors and quite cumbersome as the number of columns grows.

Is there a more efficient way to determine the correct column index without manually counting each time? Perhaps a function or a feature within Smartsheet that I might not be aware of that could simplify or automate this part of the process?

Any advice or tips to make this easier would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Pauline J

@alamn Hello! I have begun using lots of INDEX/MATCH formulas as well. I don't have an elegant solution, but what I am doing is modifying column names to include the column number (1-Name; 2-Phone, etc.) so that the number is easily identifiable.

The one challenge is that you can't move the columns around in the sheets — something I have tended to do a lot, depending on the task at hand. Someone else may have a better idea!