This tutorial shows how to use the Combine Sheets add-on to join tables from multiple sheets together. Learn how to save the column order and initial formatting of combined tables and put the result where you decide. Have the united data pasted as values or get it as a formula to reflect all future changes made in the original sheets.
Please bear in mind that Google Sheets limits the total number of possible cells in your file up to 10 million cells.
Run the add-on from the Google Sheets menu: Extensions > Combine Sheets > Start:
On this step, you choose the spreadsheets you want to combine:
When the sheets you want to work with are selected, click Next.
Decide which columns from your tables should be combined at this stage:
Tip. This way, you will avoid extra header rows before each table — only the data will be transferred.
The add-on lets you personalize the way it's going to combine data:
If you want to select other sheets or add a few more, click Back. Press Combine to merge the data.Choose how to copy the data from the sheets
Decide where to put the result
As the final confirmation, you will see the message saying how many sheets have been combined. Your data will be collected together in a new place according to the options you selected.
When you combine data from different files and choose to have the result as a formula, the add-on uses standard Google Sheets IMPORTRANGE to pull records together.
By default, for the function to work properly, you must grant it permissions to connect to other spreadsheets. Otherwise, you will see formula errors rather than the combined data.
Our add-on suggests the way of doing that correctly. See how to do that in the following video or read the instructions below:
Just hover your mouse over the errors in the Access status column and press each Allow access button that will appear:
Once all spreadsheets are connected, go to the Combined data tab and wait a bit till the result is loaded.
Along with our own custom functions, the resulting formula uses a couple of standard ones: QUERY and IMPORTRANGE. Here are some things you should know about the result returned by the formula:
Do that before granting the IMPORTRANGE access and you won't have to reload the spreadsheet as well.
However, if you choose to put the formula to a new tab of the opened file rather than to a new spreadsheet, the result will include columns inserted in the middle of the original tables.
Combine Sheet offers a way to quickly add a few more sheets to the previously combined data.
The add-on will add additional selected sheets to the existing result and update the formula accordingly if you use it. Once it's finished, you'll see a corresponding result message:
Responses
Hello,
It would be amazing to keep the name of the sheets in an extra column in the resulting new sheet.
Example, say I have an inventory, and every city has its own sheet, with the name of the city as sheet name.
Let say theres's 5 column per sheet, and in the resulting new sheet when the merge is completed, a sixth column would be added with the name of the source sheet.
Is this possible?
Hello Robert,
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We greatly appreciate it! Your idea has been forwarded to our development team for consideration.
Thank you.
Hello Robert,
I'm happy to let you know that this feature has been implemented in our Combine Sheets add-on for Google Sheets. There are now two ways to tell the source sheets: (1) Add sheet names in a new column to the right, (2) Separate the copied ranges by the names of the source sheets. You will find both options on step 3. Hope this helps! :)
Hi,
I have combined 3 sheets into one and put them on a general sheet with all the 3 sheets together. However, when I try to filter them, for example, by date, it appears to filter the data per sheet, not from all the dates combined from the 3 sheets.
Here's an example of a column from the general sheet, containing 3 names from each sheet, resulting in 9 names combined:
NAME
Aild
Carla
Borges
Amanda
Leticia
Johnny
Pedro
Matheus
Jeferson
But when i try to filter them alphabetically, it separates the data like this:
NAME:
Aild
Borges
Carla
Amanda
Johnny
Leticia
Jeferson
Pedro
Matheus
And I would like to have them filtered together like this:
NAME:
Aild
Amanda
Borges
Carla
Jeferson
Johnny
Leticia
Pedro
Matheus
Hw can I do this?
Dear Leticia,
Thank you for your question.
Could you please contact us at support@ablebits.com and send us several screenshots showing the options you select on Steps 2 of the add-on and the result sheet BEFORE sorting? Also please let us know how you sort your data, via table filter or via Data > Sort sheet or Sort range. Thank you.
I combined my sheets for college due dates and have different pages for each class. When I combined them onto a master page, it's organizing them by class. Is there a way to organize them by due date, which I have in the first column?
Hello Zoe,
Thank you for your comment.
Please try to use the standard Sort and Filter options in Google Sheets to organize the data on your master sheet the way you need.
If any assistance is still needed, please email us with a more detailed description of your task and a few screenshots showing the data you have and the result you'd like to get. We'll try to help you further.
I combined sheets with non-empty first columns and after execution, I found the first column in combined data sheet contains some empty entries, I want to correct my combination process and I am looking for some advice
Hello Lei Yu,
Thank you for your comment.
For us to understand what is causing the issue, please specify what options you choose on each step of the add-on and send us screenshots with the selected options at support@ablebits.com.
Also, if it's possible, please share an editable copy of your spreadsheet with us (support@apps4gs.com) containing a few sheets you combine. If you have confidential information there, you can replace it with some irrelevant data, just keep the format.
Note. We keep that Google account for file sharing only and don't monitor its Inbox. Please do not email there. Once you share the file, just confirm by sending an email to support@ablebits.com.
These details will help us reproduce the issue on our side and find its cause. Thank you.
When I try Combine 6 Sheets it only works when I select new Sheet. I want the combined data to remain in the same sheet. Can you help with this?
Hello,
Thank you for your question. Please tick off Custom location in step 2 and enter or select the leftmost cell of the future joined table.
https://www.ablebits.com/docs/google-sheets-combine-multiple-sheets/#choose-action
Hello there,
My "Combined data" sheet is combining about 9 sheets and I try to add a new one.
I'm trying to follow up your tip to add a new sheet:
1. Run Combine Sheets from the Combined data tab.
=> This is working well, I don't have a paid subscription yet because I'm still evaluating the extension
2. On Step 1, select Combined data along with the sheets you want to add.
=> OK
3. On Step 2, choose the option Add to the existing result and pick the resulting sheet from the drop-down.
=> The app is loading and then giving me this error message: "No sheets with the resulting formula have been selected from the current file on step 1"
I don't get it since I selected the "Combined data" sheet on step 1
Would you have any advise?
Hello Denis,
Thank you for choosing our product.
This error appears if you combine your first sheets without the formula, just as values. But when trying to add more sheets to the result, you select the option "Use a formula to combine sheets". So this message means that there are no results previously combined as a formula, hence, there's no formula to update.
In cases like this, just unselect the option to combine everything as a formula when adding more sheets. They will then be added as values to your previously combined data.
Please let me know if you need any further assistance.
Hello,
I am able to combine data beautifully until I try to use the formula function. It only asks for me to grant permission to the first sheet I add. And I get an error message on the combined pages, unless I combine without the formula. Is there a way to quickly update as new data comes in without using the formula? Or can you help me figure out why I cannot get the formula to work for me? The data I am combining is the same information across multiple individual sheets attached to google forms.
Hello Mary,
Thank you for contacting us. I'm afraid the only way to update the combined data automatically every time the source sheets are changed is to use the formula.
As for the error message you are getting, please send us its screenshot to support@ablebits.com so we could provide you with further assistance. Thank you.
Is subscription is account can transferable to another account i need to give it to my other staff?
Hello Listyo,
Thank you for your question.
Yes, you can transfer your subscription to another account/user if necessary. Please find the detailed instructions on how to do this correctly here. In case you need help activating the add-on as well, please refer to this help page.
Don't hesitate to contact us again if you have any other questions.
Hello,
Are you still developing the auto refresh? Will it refresh daily now ?
Hello Hashim,
Thank you for your question. We are about to release an updated version of Combine Sheets with a new way to combine data – using a formula that will be connected to your original files. Hence, all changes made in the source sheets will be automatically reflected in the resulting table.
The update about to come, I'll update you in this comments thread once it is published. Thank you.
Hashim,
I'm glad to tell you that the updated version of our Combine Sheets add-on is available. Now your joined sheets will be updated dynamically. We believe this will solve the problem of the add-on not being able to pull data automatically.
I hope this feature will be useful, otherwise please do not hesitate to email us at support@ablebits.com. We'll be glad to help.
Hi. How to make dynamicaly updating?
Hello Dmitrii,
Please Use a formula to combine sheets in step 2, for more details please check this passage:
https://www.ablebits.com/docs/google-sheets-combine-multiple-sheets/#get-results-formula
Hi, Thank for your help.
I couldn't find the "Combine data" in add-on. So do I need to add this function at first?
Hi Wei,
Thank you for your message. Yes, you'll need to install our add-on from the Store first: https://workspace.google.com/marketplace/app/combine_sheets/338552429820
Then you'll have 30 days of fully-functional trial to test the add-on and make sure it works for you.
My sheets have 2 rows as headers. Is there a way to designate a 2 row header when combining my sheets? Right now I am getting my second header row appearing each time a new sheet is combined.
Hello Keri,
Thank you for your question. Yes, the current version of the add-on joins tables by a one-row header. However, I have forwarded your request to our development team. They will discuss this feature and we'll be sure to let you know if/when it is available. Thank you.
I would like to combine data from two different sheets, each having different columns. I do have one common field (column) in both of the sheets. I would like the data from the two sheets to be combined into one row (record) in the results sheet using the common field (column) as the relational key. Can this be done?
Hello Mark,
I believe our other tool, Merge Sheets, will do exactly what you need. It matches and merges data from two spreadsheets based on a key column(s). The single add-on can be installed directly through Google Sheets via Add-ons -> Get add-ons or you can find it within our Power Tools. Please test this tool out to see if it suits your needs.
If you have any other questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact us back.
I am trying to combine serveral workbooks(150 different workbooks) each with 10 tabs in each workbook. I want to combine the -50 workbooks into one master workbook. The part I am having difficulty with is making sure each specific tab merged into the specific tab in the workbook.
Is this something I can do with combine sheets and if so how? Thanks for your help.
Hello Kerrie,
Thank you for your comment. You see, our Combine Sheets will simply join all the tables you select in one common sheet. So if you need to join only the particular tabs into one, check them all on the 1st step of the add-on and then repeat this procedure for the other tabs as well. Hope it will work for you.
Is there a way to refresh? I have 31 sheets that get changed daily.
Thanks
Hello Dave,
Thank you for your comment. Sorry, but it is not possible to automatically refresh the resulting table in the current version of the add-on. You'll have to start the tool each time you update your sheet.
However, this feature is in our developers' roadmap and if the functionality is supported, we'll be sure to post a comment in this thread.
Hello Dave,
I have an update for you :) We've just released an updated version of our Combine Sheets that has a new way to combine data – using a formula. Since the formula is connected to your original files, all changes made in the source sheets will be automatically reflected in the resulting table.
I do hope you'll find this novelty helpful! If you have any questions/difficulties/suggestions, please share it with us by emailing at support@ablebits.com. Thank you!
Does it do a one time combine or over real time as data keeps getting aded to the source
Hello Denzil,
I'm sorry, our add-on can't update the combined sheet automatically once the new data are added to the source sheets. You need to run the add-on each time you want to process the data. Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Hello Denzil,
I just wanted to let you know that the new version of Combine Sheets we have just released can create links to source data so that your resulting table gets updated dynamically. You'll just need to choose the "Use a formula to combine sheets" option and your sheets will be joined using a formula that'll help you keep them up-to-date.
For more details, please look through the updated manual above or reach us at support@ablebits.com. Thank you!
Hi.
- When I merge several sheets, can they be organized by date?
- My sheets are connected to forms that continuously have new registrants, does the merge in only time or can it be permanent.
' I´d like to consolidate several sheets into one master sheet, and then complement the information in each row. Can that information be retrieved to the originals sheets?
Thank you!
Hi Paola,
Thank you for your questions.
Thank you.
Is there a way to refresh the data?
Thank you for your question, Jack.
I'm afraid there's no way to refresh the data automatically at the moment. You need to start the add-on each time you want to combine sheets.
However, since this is a common request, we are considering supporting triggers in the future.
I can't give you any timing yet but I can contact you back when/if the functionality is supported.
Please let me know if you have any other question.
Hi Natalia,
Is the automatic functions supported now?
Hi Chau,
I'm afraid we haven't come up with a way to automate the process for Combine Sheets yet.
Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience.
Hi Chau,
I'd like to update you on your request and tell you that we've released a new version of our Combine Sheets add-on. Now you may join your data using a formula that will be connected to your original files. Hence, if you apply changes to your source sheets, they will be automatically reflected in the resulting table.
Check out the updated instructions above, I believe you'll find them helpful.
Hello Jack,
I am happy to inform you that we've just released an updated version of our Combine Sheets add-on with a new way to combine data – using a formula. The formula is always connected to your original files. This way, all changes made in the source sheets will be automatically reflected in the resulting table. We believe this will solve the problem of the add-on not being able to pull data automatically.
BTW, we've updated the manual above, check it out ;)
Hi
i would like to know whether if i buy the Sheet Combine addon for my company will it be applied for my entire Company domain or one user
please update
Hi, Khalid,
our subscription is account-based.
If the product is going to be used under different accounts at the same time, you need to have several subscriptions, so that there is one for each account.
Please email us to support@ablebits.com if you have any other licensing questions.
Thank you for your reply.
Is it transferable to another account may be after 3 month later if i need to give it to my other staff.
please send me a reply onto my email.
Khalid, I answered your question in email as requested.
Please check your Spam folder if you don't see in your Inbox.
Thank you.
Post a comment
Seen by everyone, do not publish license keys and sensitive personal info!