Select which columns to copy or move from one sheet to another

VLD · 04/03/23

Can it be made possible to move certain columns of a row instead of the whole row, i.e., if I had 10 rows with data columns A, B, C, D and I wanted to move just column A & D from all rows to another sheet.

Hope this makes sense?

Danielle Wilson · 04/03/23

@VLD Yes you could do that with DataMesh if each row had a unique identifier

VLD · 04/03/23

@Danielle Wilson Thank you, I do not have the necessary access, but it is good to know there is this tool. I will keep this in mind and see if I can get this made available to me within my business.

Andrée Starå · 04/03/23

Hi @VLD

I hope you're well and safe!

Here's a possible workaround or workarounds

You could use cross-sheet formulas combined with either a VLOOKUP or INDEX/MATCH structure to connect the sheets, and when you update the source sheet, it will reflect on the destination sheet.

Another option would be to use so-called helper sheets. In short, copy the row to a helper sheet and then use my method described previously to get the values you need to another helper sheet and then copy/move the row from that sheet to the main destination sheet.

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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VLD · 04/03/23

@Andrée Starå thanks, I have only just found INDEX and am using that. It was INDEX that made me think there must be another way and now I know there is. Thank you again and I will try your suggestion.

Andrée Starå · 04/03/23

@VLD

Excellent!

Happy to help!

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

OORF · 04/07/23

Currently I use the automations to copy or move rows when the trigger is met, however in a lot of cases, not all of the columns are needed. It would be helpful in the automation, you can choose which columns you want to move or copy instead of having to copy / move the entire row of information.

Erik Hartman · 04/11/23

Would be great, as an automation, to copy cell data from one column to another column.

Use case:

The workflow triggers an automation based on a change in a cell dropdown value. Once this triggers occurs the workflow processes, and upon completion, there is the ability to copy cell level data in one cell to another cell. Would be great if this is not limited to the same sheet but have the ability to copy cell level data across multiple sheets.

NikkiOno · 04/21/23

I would love to be able to only move certain row information to a desired sheet based on certain criteria rather than moving the entire row.

rajmandlia · 05/22/23

I would also like to see better COPY and MOVE functionality with the ability to include Comments, Attachments, and History. Andree workaround would work (thank you!) but in a "planned" scenario, if you have quick one-off tasks, like this, it's too time-consuming. There is not any good way to bring along comments with a tedious string of copy-paste or using notepad and reformatting. It could be much simpler, perhaps through an automation process with a helper column.

The ability to "map" columns, and suppress the creation of columns not present at target would be great - perhaps with COPY if not MOVE (since with the latter, what happens to unmapped columns?)

Roger_B · 05/31/23

When automating, there should be a way to copy specific cells (columns) into a new sheet. Currently I have a massive (or will be) sheet that works more like a database. When certain conditions are met, I can move or copy the whole row into a new sheet. Even better is that the new sheet will auto arrange the new data into columns with the same name. But I don't need all the data to go, just the data that matches.

Ex: Inventory tracking with columns like: name, last service, next service, cost, condition, ordered from, and more. I have a condition (and helper column) to automate "if last service is greater than next service" send a copy to "service@email.com". Service doesn't need the cost, or ordered from, but I can only send the whole row. The service sheet should be separate because it tracks what they do, and when completed sends me an email to update the date.

MichaelTCA · 06/05/23

Hello,

I think there should be a feature to transfer data from sheet to sheet by individual columns.

It can run exactly like data shuttle or an automation like generate documents, where each individual column is mapped.

Moving and copying rows are great, but I don't want to bring over all the unnecessary columns if I'm developing something new or reworking an old sheet.

pgregory3 · 06/07/23

Although automations give the ability to copy rows to another sheet, it lacks the ability to update rows (in the 2nd sheet) when data within the original sheet changes. It would be helpful to have a bi-directional connection that when the master row changes information the copied row changes as well in the connected sheet.

Danielle Wilson · 06/07/23

@pgregory3 Definitely something I'd recommend looking into DataMesh for!

Danielle Wilson · 06/10/23

You could potentially look into DataMesh as a way to achieve this result as well! (There's a similar discussion here: https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/92237/copy-specific-columns-from-one-sheet-to-another-linked/)

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Select which columns to copy or move from one sheet to another

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