How to use the SHEET function
What is the SHEET function?
The SHEET function returns the sheet number of a cell reference.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
What is a sheet number?
The sheet number refers to the position of the sheet in the workbook, starting from 1. It is a relative reference that indicates which sheet to return information from. For example, if you have a workbook with three sheets: "Sheet1", "Sheet2", and "Sheet3", the sheet numbers would be:
Sheet1: 1
Sheet2: 2
Sheet3: 3
What is a cell reference?
A cell reference lets you "fetch" and use values in other cells in a formula.
There are two types of cell references:
- A1-style reference
- R1C1 reference
The A1-style reference is the default style in Excel, it names columns by letters from A to Z. After Z it starts over with AA, AB, and so on until XFD. Rows are numbered from 1 to 1048576, older Excel versions use less row numbers.
The R1C1-style uses row number and column number like: R1C1, R2C5 and R10C15. Rows are labeled R1, R2, R3 and so on, columns are labeled C1, C2, C3 etc.
The A1-style reference notation is the most common one, here are some examples:
A1 - single cell reference on the same worksheet
A1:D5 - reference to a cell range on the same worksheet
Budget!Z3 - a single cell reference to worksheet Budget
'Budget 2050'!A3 - a single cell reference to a worksheet containing a space character
There are two types of cell references:
- Relative cell references
- Absolute cell references
The examples above are all relative cell references, they change accordingly if a cell is copied and pasted to another cell which absolute cell references do not.
The $ dollar character lets you an absolute cell reference meaning you can lock a cell reference horizontally, vertically or both. Here is one example:
A$1 has a relative column reference but an absolute row reference, this means that the column letter may change if the cell is copied and pasted to cells in another column than A.
What is a worksheet?
A worksheet is a single page in an Excel workbook sometimes also called only sheet.
You can see the different worksheets in your open workbook by examining the tabs located in the bottom of the worksheet, see the image above.
Press with left mouse button on the plus sign next to the last worksheet name in the bottom of you Excel window to insert a new worksheet to the current workbook.
Press with right mouse button on a worksheet name to rename it, a popup menu appears. Select "Rename", the name is now highlighted. Type the new worksheet name and then press Enter.
The tabs have a sheet number that represents the order or rank in the workbook. The first tab which is the bottom most left one is numbered 1, the next one is the second worksheet and so on.
You can rearrange the worksheets by pressing with the left mouse button on the worksheet tab and hold the mouse button, then drag the tab to the new position.
The worksheet contains a cell grid where you can enter, organize, manipulate and analyze data. Excel allows worksheets within a workbook to have different visibility states:
- Visible worksheet: Worksheet is fully visible and interactive in the workbook, the tab is shown at the bottom. This state is default for new worksheets.
- Hidden worksheet: Not visible but can be made visible using the Unhide command, the tab is hidden at the bottom of the worksheet which makes it impossible to select it. This state is useful for hiding data but keeping it accessible.
- Very hidden worksheet: Not visible and not accessible via the Unhide command, the tab is hidden at the bottom. A worksheet can only be made "very hidden" using VBA or the Visual Basic Editor.
What is the difference between the SHEET function and the SHEETS function?
The SHEET and SHEETS functions in Excel serve different purposes:
- SHEET function: Returns the sheet number of the referenced sheet within the workbook. If no reference is provided, it returns the number of the sheet containing the formula. Example: =SHEET("Sheet2") might return 2 if Sheet2 is the second sheet in the workbook.
- SHEETS function: Counts the number of sheets in a reference or in the entire workbook. If no reference is provided, it returns the total number of sheets in the workbook. Returns the count of sheets, not their positions. Example: =SHEETS() might return 3 if the workbook contains three sheets.
Use SHEET to find out where a specific sheet is positioned in your workbook, and use SHEETS to count how many sheets you have in total or within a specific range.
2. Syntax
SHEET(value)
| value | Optional. Value is a cell reference for which you want the sheet number. SHEET function returns the number of the sheet that contains the function if value is omitted, |
3. Example
The SHEET function returns the sheet number of the referenced sheet within the workbook. If no argument is provided, it returns the number of the sheet containing the formula. These formulas are useful for dynamically obtaining sheet numbers, which can be helpful in more complex formulas or when working with multiple sheets in a workbook. The formulas in cell range B3:B5 demonstrate different uses of the SHEET function in Excel:
Formula in cell B3:
This formula returns the sheet number of the current sheet, Sheet3 in this case. The A1 reference is not necessary here, as SHEET() without arguments would return the same result.
Formula in cell B3:
This formula returns the sheet number of Sheet2. The exclamation mark (!) is used to reference a cell in another sheet.
Formula in cell B5:
Similarly, this formula returns the sheet number of Sheet1.
4. SHEET function not working
There are errors in all three formulas, either due to typos (B3), referencing non-existent sheets (B4), or incorrect syntax (B5). These errors demonstrate common mistakes when using the SHEET function and highlight the importance of proper syntax and references when working with Excel functions. The formulas in cell range B3:B5 demonstrate different error outcomes using the SHEET function in Excel:
Formula in cell B3:
This is an incorrect formula, the spelling is wrong. The function should be SHEET, not SHEETY. If corrected to =SHEET(A1), it would return the sheet number of the current sheet.
Formula in cell B4:
This formula attempts to return the sheet number of Sheet4, however, Sheet4 doesn't exist in this workbook which results in a #N/A error.
Formula in cell B5:
This is an incorrect usage of the SHEET function. The SHEET function expects either no argument or a cell reference. Using just 'A' as an argument is invalid, which is why it results in a #NAME? error.
Functions in 'Information' category
The SHEET function function is one of 19 functions in the 'Information' category.
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