Merging 15 smartsheet together in 1 consolidated sheet ~ exceeding 20K row limit

Question

For my Project - The team currently have 15 separate workstreams tracked in individual sheets, each over 1,000 rows. While this setup has worked so far, we're starting to encounter some challenges:

Difficulty managing cross-sheet predecessor logic, requiring manual updates in each sheet

- Inconsistencies and versioning issues with data spread across so many sources, though we have same standardized columns

- Nearing the 20,000-row limit in several of our larger sheets, if merged as Integrated Master Schedule.

- Lack of a unified view for executive reporting and analytics

We're considering consolidating all 15 workstreams into a single master sheet/ data table to streamline reporting, simplify cross-project logic, and give us room to scale. I'm aware this is a significant structural change that will require careful planning and execution to maintain existing predecessor relationship.

Want to check if anyone has done it?

* Are there established methodologies or tools for merging large sheet data while preserving a core workflow logic like predecessors, when we move 15 sheets to 1 integrated schedule.
* What API operations and safeguards should we consider for safely moving subset data into a unified structure, if any 
* Are there alternatives we should consider to a single consolidated sheet, such as Data Table as merging them together will exceed 20K limit.
* How we can move data preserving the current predecessor.

V.C · Answer

Hey JonGH,

I somehow fixed it by copying all rows to master list in table view format. As now i am using 85% of cell ~50K capacity.

You can still toggle between Table and grid view. Grid view is super slow though.

few things that worked for me ~ if we are moving from various sources and columns are getting duplicated delete them as you go.

2nd- We used Clause to overwrite the predecessors.

JonGH · Answer

I am trying to do the same thing as V.C. but when I try pulling another sheet in using data mesh even If I had them both sheets in table view it doesnt pull in the next sheet because of the limit still. Any advice?

Matt Lynn ACT · Answer

Data table is an option if you're also pulling limited parts of that larger data set down into the sheet. Also if you use the new table view, not the old grid view you're not limited to the 20k rows any more. Also for grid view side I recommend an amazing tool called SSFeatures which allows you to better see your sheet capacities and get warnings on the same. SSFeatures / Nathan is a Smartsheet partner and great friend.