In that case, it's much easier to make sure the system you're downloading data is configured to download data in the same columns each time.īefore I download data from a service like Google Analytics, I always make sure that I'm downloading the same report format each time. Often, you'll find yourself needing to combine spreadsheets when you're downloading data from systems. Before you try to combine data with Get & Transform Data feature, it really helps to ensure that the data is in the same structure, with the same columns in each workbook you're combining.
You can't easily combine a four-column spreadsheet and a five-column spreadsheet, as Excel won't know where to place the data. The files need to have the same setup for the data structure, with the same columns. The most important part of this process is checking your data before you start combining it.
You won't find it in the Mac versions or in the web browser edition of Microsoft's app. In Excel 2016 for Windows or the Office365 version of Excel, you'll find this feature on the Data tab in the Get & Transform options.Īlso, this feature is exclusive to Excel for Windows. Prepare to Use Get & Transform Data Tools to Combine SheetsĮxcel has an incredibly powerful set of tools that are often called PowerQuery. Beginning with Excel 2016, this feature set was rebranded as Get & Transform Data.Īs the name suggests, these are a set of tools that helps you pull data together from other workbooks and consolidate it into one workbook.
If you keep working with two separate files, they aren't "in sync." If you make changes to the original workbook that you copied the sheets from, they won't automatically update in the combined workbook. Now, the two sheets we selected from a separate workbook are copied into the main workbook. Once you press OK, you'll see that the sheets we copied are in the combined workbook. You can always choose (move to end)and re-sequence the order the sheets later as needed.įinally, it's optional check the box to Create a copy, which will duplicate the sheets and create a separate copy of them in the workbook you're moving the sheets to. The Before sheet menu controls where sequentially in the workbook the sheets will be inserted. On the pop-up window, choose the workbook that you want to copy or move your sheets into, and ensure that you check Create a copy if you don't want to move all of the sheets.Īlso, you can choose where the sheets are placed in the new workbook in terms of sequence. Choose the name of the file from the " To book" drop-down. On the Move or Copy pop up window, the first thing that you'll want to do is select the workbook that you want to move the sheets to. Control+click (or command+click) on all of the sheets that you want to move or copy between workbooks, then right click and choose Move or Copy. Now, simply right click and choose Move or Copy from the menu. You'll notice that as you do this, the tabs will show as highlighted. Now, hold Control (or Command on Mac) on your keyboard and click on all of the sheets that you want to copy to a separate workbook. To do this, start off by opening both Excel workbooks. Then, switch to the workbook that you want to copy several sheets from. The easiest method to merge Excel spreadsheets is to simply take the entire sheet and copy it from one workbook to another.
How to Move & Copy Sheets (Simplest Method)
As always, Excel has multiple ways to accomplish this task, and how you're working with your data will drive which approach is the best.
Important : The email addresses used in this tutorial are fictitious (randomly generated) and not intended to represent any real email addresses.