Can you link entire sheets in Excel?

How to Link Excel Spreadsheet Data

Microsoft Excel provides the ability for cells in one worksheet to be linked to cells in other worksheets in the same or different workbook.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to link worksheet data in all versions of Excel. For information about our related tutorials, see Linking Worksheet Data Tutorials.

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Why Link Spreadsheet Data?

Creating links, or external cell references, can eliminate having the same data maintained in multiple sheets. This saves time, reduces errors, and improves data integrity. A Sales Manager can have a detailed sheet for each rep, and a summary sheet to compare performance. Prices can be stored in a master sheet to which other worksheets link.

How Linking Spreadsheet Data Works

When we link data, we tell Excel to display data from another worksheet. The worksheet that has the data is the source worksheet and the sheet that wants the data is the destination worksheet. We tell Excel what data to bring forward with a link formula.

The link formula syntax is =SheetName!CellReference and specifies the worksheet and cell. In the example below, we entered =Toronto!B6 in the destination sheet to display the units sold from the Toronto spreadsheet.

Any time the source data changes, the destination worksheet will show the new data the next time it is opened.

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How to Create a Worksheet Link

We'll look at three methods for creating a link formula. These instructions assume that the source and destination worksheets are in the same workbook. If not, go to section 5. And always format the cell which will contain the link formula before beginning.

✦ Link Worksheet Data - Method One ✦

Start in the destination sheet and end in the source worksheet.

1. In the destination worksheet, click in the cell that will contain the link formula and type an equal sign, but do NOT press Enter (figure 1).
2. In the source worksheet, click in the cell with the data to link (figure 2) and press Enter. Excel returns to the destination sheet and displays the linked data. Excel creates a link formula with relative cell references:   =Paris!B6.

✦ Link Worksheet Data - Method Two ✦

Copy from the source worksheet and Paste Link in the destination sheet.

1. In the source worksheet, copy* the data to be linked. As in the example above, we are bringing in the value of cell B6 from the Paris worksheet.
2. In the destination sheet, click the cell where you want the link formula, and click Paste ⇒ Paste Link on the Home tab - see figure 3.   (Old versions of Excel: Edit ⇒ Paste Special ⇒ Paste Link)
3. The destination worksheet displays the formula value, and the link formula displays in the formula bar (figure 4). With this method, Excel creates the formula with an absolute cell reference: =Paris!$B$6.
4. Return to the source worksheet and press ESC key to remove the animated border.

* Copy methods: 1) keyboard shortcut Ctrl + C,   2) right-click menu,   3) copy button on the ribbon's Home tab.

✦ Manually Write Formulas - Method 3 ✦

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Entering formulas manually is not difficult: equal sign, sheet name, exclamation mark, and cell reference: =SheetName!CellReference. If you have multiple formulas to enter, open a Notepad file, type the formula, and copy, paste, and modify.

Don't worry about capitalizing worksheet names. If the worksheet name is capitalized and you enter the name in the formula without the capital letter, Excel will add it. And vice versa. See Naming and Renaming Worksheets.

In linking formulas, spaces or special characters must be wrapped in single quotes; e.g. ='Retail Prices'!B6. (Excel automatically wraps worksheet names C or R in single quotes.)

How to Link a Range of Cells

To link a range of cells, select the cells and click Copy. In the destination sheet, click the cell where the upper-left cell of the range should be located and click Paste ⇒ Paste Link on the Home tab.

Cell values in the range will be linked, and will display on the destination sheet. Each cell in the range will contain its own link formula which references the corresponding cell in the source worksheet.

Linking to Worksheets in Different Workbooks

If the worksheets are in different workbooks in the same folder or directory, the formula must also include the workbook name in brackets as shown.

=[BookName.xlsx]SheetName!CellReference

=[BookName.xlsx]SheetName!
CellReference

If the workbooks are in different folders, the formula would have to include the complete file path as well, so it is best to avoid this situation. Don't forget that versions older than Excel 2007 have a file extension of xls.

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Moving Worksheets with External Cell References

If the source and destination worksheets are in the same workbook, moving the workbook to a different folder or even a different computer should not be a problem. But if either worksheet is moved to a different folder, the link will break!

Also, companies that store worksheets on network servers have additional factors to consider that are outside the scope of this tutorial.

Handling Linked Data Security Warning Messages

The next time you open the destination worksheet, you will undoubtedly see one of the following security alerts, warning you that Automatic update of links has been disabled.

Procedures for responding to this message and a subsequent security warning differ depending on your version of Excel.

For detailed information and the procedure for permanently disabling these security warnings, please see Automatic Updates When LInking Data and Charts.

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