ok say that you have 3 differnt excel files and all of them contain similiar data, is there a way where you...

Question

can just open one file and have it link to the others when you edit without opening all of the files?

Answer 1

yes you can.

but first, you must set up the 3 files and specify what cells are linked together. whenever you open the main file that you just want to work on, it will ask you to update. if you click yes, it will update its content based on itself and the two other files. the two file won't open.

if the other two files also reference the main file, whenever you open them, they too will update (if you select yes) if they are dependent on some data in the main file.

Answer 2

Yes, just have the references of certain data from the others.

For instance, if you want a certain cell to have the same value from another excel spreadsheet(while both are open), type an = in a cell, then click the wanted data in the other excel spreadsheet, hit enter. That sets the link. Whenever the second file is changed, it will be reflected in the first.

Answer 3

You can use formuals to link across files or sheets. However, if you have the data in different files (workbooks) then the file that isn't opened will not be updated till it is opened. So for example if I want field a7 from file1 to fill in the field b3 on file 2 with both files open I can simply use the + in field a7 in file1 and point to field b3 in file 2 then save both files. If I change b3 in file 2 and save it the next time I open file 1 I will be told that it is retrieving the latest data and the value will change.

Hope this helps, good luck

Answer 4

I would be really careful linking separate excel documents. If there's a mistake on a formula, it can corrupt the other files and it's a pain going through every single one to fix it. Would it be easier to copy the sheet and add a tab so you don't have to open different files everytime you make changes? Better yet, have you tried using ACCESS instead of EXCEL?

Answer 5

Yes. The reference would be something like the following:

=[filename.xls]Sheet1!$A$1

This points to the excel file named filename.xls and the sheet "sheet1" within that worksheet and constant cell A1