Hi everyone, I'm experiencing a strange issue with cross-sheet references and would appreciate any guidance. I have a sheet where a cell is populated using a cross-sheet reference from another sheet. The source cell in the referenced sheet is not a manual value. It contains a formula that uses two other cross-sheet references. What I'm seeing * In the destination sheet, the cross-sheet reference displays #BLOCKED. * After tracing the issue, it appears to be linked to the formula cell in the source sheet. * However, when I open the source sheet directly, that formula cell does not show #INVALID REF, #BLOCKED, or any other visible error. * The cell simply appears blank. * If I manually enter values into the underlying referenced cells, everything starts working correctly and the #BLOCKED error disappears. * The issue only seems to occur when the referenced values are blank. What I've already checked * All cross-sheet references have been reviewed multiple times. * The source formula appears valid. * The source cell looks completely blank when viewed directly. * No obvious #INVALID REF is visible in the source sheet. * As soon as values are present, the destination sheet updates correctly and the #BLOCKED error disappears. Question Has anyone experienced a situation where: * A cross-sheet reference shows #BLOCKED in the destination sheet, * The referenced source cell appears completely blank when opened directly, * The source cell itself contains a formula that uses additional cross-sheet references, * The issue only occurs when the referenced values are blank, * Entering values causes everything to work normally again? Could this be a cross-sheet reference evaluation issue, caching issue, or a known limitation with formulas that reference other cross-sheet references? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! 🙂

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#BLOCKED Error on Cross-Sheet Reference While Source Formula Cell Appears Blank

Divyansh

Hi everyone,

I'm experiencing a strange issue with cross-sheet references and would appreciate any guidance.

I have a sheet where a cell is populated using a cross-sheet reference from another sheet.

The source cell in the referenced sheet is not a manual value. It contains a formula that uses two other cross-sheet references.

What I'm seeing

In the destination sheet, the cross-sheet reference displays #BLOCKED.
After tracing the issue, it appears to be linked to the formula cell in the source sheet.
However, when I open the source sheet directly, that formula cell does not show #INVALID REF, #BLOCKED, or any other visible error.
The cell simply appears blank.
If I manually enter values into the underlying referenced cells, everything starts working correctly and the #BLOCKED error disappears.
The issue only seems to occur when the referenced values are blank.

What I've already checked

All cross-sheet references have been reviewed multiple times.
The source formula appears valid.
The source cell looks completely blank when viewed directly.
No obvious #INVALID REF is visible in the source sheet.
As soon as values are present, the destination sheet updates correctly and the #BLOCKED error disappears.

Question

Has anyone experienced a situation where:

A cross-sheet reference shows #BLOCKED in the destination sheet,
The referenced source cell appears completely blank when opened directly,
The source cell itself contains a formula that uses additional cross-sheet references,
The issue only occurs when the referenced values are blank,
Entering values causes everything to work normally again?

Could this be a cross-sheet reference evaluation issue, caching issue, or a known limitation with formulas that reference other cross-sheet references?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks! 🙂

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Formulas

Cell linking

Accepted answers

Paul Newcome

I have had this issue with a Control Center solution actually, and it was relatively recently. The only way to resolve this issue is to cut down on the number of cell links and cross sheet references in each project.

All comments

Paul Newcome

What is the formula that is throwing the blocked error, and what is the other formula that is being referenced? Have you ensured there are no filters on the source sheet?

When searching for errors in a column, I like to create a filter for that column and use the condition "is one of". This makes everything a checkbox option to filter on. If an error is listed there in the filter builder, then the error is present somewhere in the column.

Divyansh

Thanks for the suggestion.

The cell showing #BLOCKED does not actually contain a formula itself. It is a cross-sheet reference pulling data from another sheet.

The source cell it references contains a formula that uses two additional cross-sheet references, so there is a chain of references involved. It isn't a circular reference, but it does create a dependency across multiple sheets.

The strange part is that when I click into the #BLOCKED error, I can trace it back to what appears to be an #INVALID REF. However, as soon as I open the source sheet, the error disappears and the cell appears completely blank with no visible error.

If values are entered into the referenced cells, everything starts working correctly and the #BLOCKED error disappears. The issue only seems to occur when the referenced values are blank.

I've also checked for filters and couldn't find anything that would explain the behaviour.

One additional detail is that these sheets were provisioned and are maintained through Smartsheet Control Centre, where a lot of information is automatically ported between sheets. Because of that, I'm wondering whether this could be related to Control Centre, cross-sheet reference evaluation, or a refresh/caching issue rather than the formula itself.

Has anyone come across similar behaviour in a Control Centre solution?

Paul Newcome

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