Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Relative Worksheet References.
Suppose you have a workbook with three worksheets, Sheet1, Sheet2 and Sheet3. In column A1 of worksheet Sheet2 you have the formula =Sheet1!A1. When you copy that formula from Sheet2 to cell A1 of Sheet3, the formula still references Sheet1. How can that be, though? Why doesn't Excel adjust the sheet reference, like it does the cell references?
Like named ranges, Excel treats worksheet names as absolute. Each worksheet object is independent of all other worksheets in the workbook. When you paste a formula that includes a sheet reference, that sheet reference is left unchanged in what is pasted.
There are a couple of things you can do. One is to simply modify the formula reference after it is pasted so that it references the correct sheet. If you have many of them to change, then you can select all the formulas in the target worksheet (F5 | Special | Formulas) and then use Find and Replace to replace the original worksheet name (Sheet1) with the correct worksheet name (Sheet2).
If your referencing needs are not complex, then you can use a macro approach. For instance, if you want a formula in a particular cell to refer to a cell on the sheet previous to the current sheet, then you can do that by macro rather easily. Consider the following macro:
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: 
Function PrevSheet(rCell As Range)
Application.Volatile
Dim i As Integer
i = rCell.Cells(1).Parent.Index
PrevSheet = Sheets(i - 1).Range(rCell.Address)
End Function
The macro looks at the current worksheet and then figures out which worksheet is before it. The reference is then made for that worksheet. Once you've created the PrevSheet macro, here's one way the function can be used in a cell:
=PrevSheet(A1)
This returns the value of cell A1 from the previous worksheet. If you have Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3, and you use this formula on Sheet3, then it returns the value of Sheet2!A1. If the previous sheet is the first sheet of the workbook or it is not a worksheet, then the function returns a #Value error.
If you later copy this formula to a different sheet (say to Sheet 5), then it pulls up the value relative to its new location, which means it pulls up the value from Sheet4!A1.
You can also include a sheet name and the function will work just fine:
=PrevSheet(Sheet3!A5)
This version will always return Sheet2!A5 since sheet2 is the previous sheet of Sheet3.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12141) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Relative Worksheet References.
Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!
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2021-08-17 04:35:17
Rene Boers
Another easy way to change the references is to use the "Indirect" function in the formula. In another cell you enter the sheet name, which the formula refers to. As an example, I have a summary sheet whereby each column collects information for one sheet only. For each column the sheet name which is being referenced, is shown in a cell at the top of that particular column. Whenever I have make a copy of an existing sheet, for a new project, I also copy an existing column on the summary sheet and change the reference cell at the top of the new column, to agree to the new sheet name.
2017-10-25 12:45:32
Lloyd Johnson
It's too bad Microsoft can't just incorporate this as a function into the program like Quattro Pro did a long time ago instead of us having to write macros.
2017-01-03 15:22:29
Steve Bondy
I tried this but kept getting a #Name error. For anyone else that runs into that, you MUST put the macro in a user module. In the VB editor click on the insert menu, then click on Module.
Paste the VB code into the newly created module, then it all works properly. You can't put the code in the "This Workbook" module, or in the module for one of the individual sheets. It must be in a user module.
See the first two steps of this article for further reference:
http://www.dummies.com/software/microsoft-office/excel/how-to-create-custom-excel-functions/
2016-07-15 11:40:49
Ashley
I am trying to set this up and I keep getting #Value error. I set this up through the VBA which is what I assume you mean when you say create a macro. That is the only way it would work. PreSheet comes up but once I enter the cell vaule for the previous page I get the error. Please help, thanks
2015-11-01 00:44:01
CKChan
Thanks, it's really useful.
2015-10-05 09:22:54
TimZ
Thanks, I think this will will come in handy. In the past, I've relied on named references or used the INDIRECT function to simplify relative references across sheets, but both those options come with some overhead.
2015-08-26 02:45:42
Rajeswar Rao NLV
I have tried this exact macro and it worked for me. It has saved me from enormous work. PrevSheet function is working fine in Macro enable workbook of office 2007 and 2010.
Thank You ExcelTips.
2015-08-04 08:09:04
Blak11
How would I modify this macro to skip hidden sheets..?
2015-02-17 11:46:25
Jeremy
I have tried this exact macro multiple times. I keep getting the return value of "#VALUE!". I know the macro is correct I have copied it from this website. Any ideas of what I could be doing wrong?
2013-03-20 11:20:39
I tested the function and it actually does depend on the order of the tabs along the bottom. The function looks for the sheet previous to the sheet the function is used in. You will get a #VALUE! error if you use this function on the first sheet/tab of the series.
2013-03-19 14:12:53
Dennis Costello
In the above, "which worksheet is before it" depends of course not on the order of the tabs at the bottom of the window or the names of the worksheets, but their index numbers, which roughly translates to the order in which they were created. Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3 are a special case in that when a new workbook is created, they have indices 1, 2, and 3.
2012-09-24 19:16:33
Glenn
Nice one, thanks Allen
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