How to Get Relative Cell Reference in Importrange in Google Sheets

GiGiKing·March 20, 2024·0 comments

Are you tired of manually changing cell references in your Importrange formulas? Do you want a seamless way to automatically import the next row or column when copying the formula? Well, you’re in luck! In this article, I will show you how to achieve relative cell references in Importrange in Google Sheets with just a few simple steps.

The Problem with Importrange

By default, the Importrange function in Google Sheets doesn’t support relative cell references. This means that when you copy an Importrange formula down or across, the cell references remain the same. This can be frustrating and time-consuming, especially if you’re working with a large dataset.

But fear not, there is a solution!

Introducing the Combo Formula

To bring dynamism to your range_string in the Importrange formula, we can use a combo formula. This combo formula combines four functions – Address, Row, Column, and Join – to create a dynamic cell reference that can be used in Importrange.

Let’s dive into the step-by-step process:

Step 1: Generating the Relative Cell Reference

First, we need to generate the relative cell reference that we want to import. For example, let’s say we want to import the row range Sheet1!A2:F2, and when we copy the formula down, we want the reference to change to Sheet1!A3:F3.

To generate the relative cell reference, insert the following formula in a blank cell:

=address(row(A2),column(A2),,,"Sheet1")

Replace “Sheet1” in the formula with the name of your source sheet to import.

Step 2: Combining the Formulas

Next, we need to combine the formulas from Step 1 to create the range_string for our Importrange formula. We’ll use the Join function to achieve this.

Here’s the formula:

=join(":",address(row(A2),column(A2),,,"Sheet1"),address(row(F2),column(F2)))

This formula will give us the range_string in the format Sheet1!$A$2:$F$2.

Step 3: Updating the Importrange Formula

Now that we have the dynamic cell reference, we can replace the range_string in our original Importrange formula with the formula from Step 2.

Here’s the updated formula:

=importrange("URL",join(":",address(row(A2),column(A2),,,"Sheet1"),address(row(F2),column(F2))))

Make sure to replace “URL” with the full URL of your Google Sheets file.

Copying Across the Row

But wait, there’s more! You can also copy the formula across the row to import the next column’s data.

For example, if you’re importing A2:A10 in cell A1 and want to import B2:B10 when copying the formula to A2, you can use the following formula:

=join(":",address(row(A2),column(A2),,,"Sheet1"),address(row(A10),column(A10)))

This formula will import the next column’s data when copying it across.

Conclusion

By following this approach, you can easily achieve relative cell references in Importrange in Google Sheets. Say goodbye to manual editing and save time and effort in your spreadsheet tasks. If you’re interested in more Google Sheets tips and tricks, make sure to check out Crawlan.com. Happy importing!