Index and match doesn't always work

Charlotte Patey

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had come across a technical issue with index and match or if it's something I am doing wrong (the formula is definitely correct).

I have a critically important index and match on a large number of sheets but it has stopped working. Replacing it with vlookups work so I have a fix but I'd rather find out what has gone wrong before replacing a huge number of formulas, if anyone has any ideas?

Many thanks,

Charlotte

Andrée Starå

Hi @Charlotte Patey

I hope you're well and safe!

Can you describe your process in more detail and maybe share the sheet(s)/copies of the sheet(s) or some screenshots? (Delete/replace any confidential/sensitive information before sharing) That would make it easier to help. (share too, andree@workbold.com)

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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Charlotte Patey

Hi Andree,

I think I have worked out what the issue is (not an index and match issue, exactly).

It* works on reports that pull from a single sheet report but not those that have multiple input sheets.

So my question is how are reports that come from multiple sheets updated / refreshed or rather, how are they refreshed differently to a single sheet? Seems to work after a few page reloads / a few minutes ?

*By it I mean reports on a dashboard. This is my long-winded process:

Sheet 1 with the data (data added with a user input form)

An intermediary sheet which 'selects' the most recent project ID based on user ID (user initials) and 'ignores' the rest.

Individual project sheets then say 'select' or 'ignore' and a report 'selects' the project information to show on a dashboard.

=INDEX({Sheet - Project Initiation - PCUK Range 1}, MATCH([Project Number]1, {Sheet - Project Initiation - PCUK Range 3}, 0), 1)

This is the end result:

It all looks good now but initially the Allocated Time section showed old data.

Andrée Starå

@Charlotte Patey

That is probably an issue that the sheet(s) need to be "activated" in one of multiple ways to update the Sheet data and especially if you're using the TODAY function in any formulas.

Please have a look at my post below with a method I developed to update the sheet(s) daily.

More info: 

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/74527/daily-update-solution-without-the-need-to-open-the-sheet-use-zapier-or-similar

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Charlotte Patey

Hi Andree,

The sheet / formula update needs to be done automatically when a user wants to view the data. However they don't directly indicate that on the individual sheets so I'm not sure an automated workflow would work unless I can add it to the sheet a user does update and trigger the update from there.

Hmmmm guess I will keep trying (unless smartsheet want to end my pain and add user-filter functionality to reports on dashboards . . . )

I will look into automated triggers and if it helps I will come back and click that your above answer answered my question.

Many thanks for your quick replies.

Charlotte

Andrée Starå

@Charlotte Patey

You're more than welcome!

I read through it again.

I use a similar structure in some of my client solutions, but they work without any issues.

Strange!

I'd be happy to take a quick look.

Feel free to share it with me, and I'll see if I can see why it might be happening.

Can you maybe share the sheet(s)/copies of the sheet(s)? (Delete/replace any confidential/sensitive information before sharing) That would make it easier to help. (share too, andree@workbold.com)

✅Remember! Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community by marking it as the accepted answer/helpful. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!