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Is it possible to reference data from one spreadsheet file to another different spreadsheet file?

I wonder if Apple has made this a possibility, and I am just missing how to formulate it to make it happen.


I appreciate any help anyone can provide.

RC

Posted on Mar 12, 2023 8:31 AM

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Posted on Mar 13, 2023 7:24 AM

Yes, I hadn't noticed how QuickBooks, Sage and other have moved to (pretty expensive) subscription model.


Know nothing about it, or privacy policy, but maybe something like Wave might work.


Trying to automate Numbers to act like an accounting app is theoretically possible, but a tall order indeed!


SG

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 13, 2023 7:24 AM in response to rcandrewz

Yes, I hadn't noticed how QuickBooks, Sage and other have moved to (pretty expensive) subscription model.


Know nothing about it, or privacy policy, but maybe something like Wave might work.


Trying to automate Numbers to act like an accounting app is theoretically possible, but a tall order indeed!


SG

Mar 12, 2023 9:07 AM in response to rcandrewz

No, that is not possible with a formula (though it is possible, but fiddly, via script).


You might want to consider why you would need that. Numbers, unlike Excel, makes it easy to have multiple tables on one sheet. And you can have many sheets in a document. That should give you plenty of leeway to organize your work all within one document. That has the added advantage that there are no links that break whenever you move your Numbers document within the file system.


SG

Mar 12, 2023 9:36 AM in response to SGIII

Thanks, SG.


The reason is for accounting purposes.


I have multiple accounts with hundreds of service calls.


I want to populate quarterly data into one file with just the amounts. If I had a separate spreadsheet, it would simplify things for me.


Going at it with the multiple tabs per account in one spreadsheet makes it hurt too much.


Also, I would end up having a thousand tabs in one spreadsheet.


I contract for four companies with 20 to 200 clients (service calls) each.


One spread sheet as an example, has 131 service calls every three months. Another has 60 and another 20, and so on.


RC

Mar 13, 2023 2:56 AM in response to SGIII

Hey SG. I thought about that, but having been a Mac guy since the MacPlus came onto the market, I refuse to give up, especially after they released Numbers. I was forced to use Excel for the longest time.


The real answer is an accounting program. I am just not big enough to get into that sort of monthly subscription fee. I also do not need payroll integration or carry an inventory, etc.


With all the accounting suites going with the online subscription fee model and so few standalone offline applications for the new MacOs', it is what it is until a Wiz Kid comes along and realizes the value of customers like myself being able to do what I am seeking to do.


I am "Betwixt between the East and West," as Lou Reed once sang. Or, "Should I stay or should I go," from the Clash. LOL.


It seems to me if one could select Tabs, it would be doable, but alas, one can not, so it is not.


I am determined to make Numbers work, though.


I saw where Automator might be able to do the function for me as you suggested, but it's a job in of itself for sure.


RC

Is it possible to reference data from one spreadsheet file to another different spreadsheet file?

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