Learn how to automatically pull data from a different Google Sheet into your current one. This is perfect for creating dashboards, centralizing information, and avoiding manual copy-pasting.
Click on the cell in your current sheet where you want the imported data to start. This will be the top-left cell of your imported range.
Type the beginning of the formula: =IMPORTRANGE("spreadsheet_url", "range_string"). You will replace the placeholder text in the next steps.
Open the source Google Sheet. Copy its full URL from your browser's address bar and paste it between the first set of quotation marks in your formula.
In the second part of the formula, specify the sheet name and the cell range you want to import. For example, to import cells A1 through C10 from a sheet named 'Sales Data', you would type "Sales Data!A1:C10".
Press Enter. The cell will show a #REF! error. Hover over the cell and click the blue Allow access button that appears. This connects the two sheets, and your data will now appear.
Tips for Importing Data in Google Sheets
Instead of hardcoding the URL or range, you can reference other cells that contain this information, making your formula more flexible.
Wrap your IMPORTRANGE function within a QUERY function to sort, filter, or aggregate the imported data directly. Example: =QUERY(IMPORTRANGE(...), "SELECT * WHERE Col1 IS NOT NULL").
The most common #REF! error is forgetting to 'Allow access'. It can also mean the URL is incorrect or the sheet name/range doesn't exist.
Imported data is live. Any changes made in the source sheet will automatically update in your destination sheet, though there might be a slight delay.
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