Merge data from two Google spreadsheets

The Merge Sheets add-on brings the latest data from an additional sheet into your main table. Find and pull matching values, or add non-matching rows, if needed, in five simple steps.

• Before you start
• How to use Merge Sheets
  • Start the add-on
  • Step 1: Select your main table
  • Step 2: Choose the lookup sheet
  • Step 3: Identify matching columns
  • Step 4: Pick columns to add or update in the main sheet
  • Step 5: Tweak additional options
  • Get the results

Before you start

We care about your data and suggest you always create backup copies of your spreadsheets. A special option of the add-on will do that for you if you select it.

How to use Merge Sheets

Start the add-on

To open the tool, go to Add-ons > Merge Sheets > Start:

Step 1: Select your main table

Your main table is the one that will be updated as the result of the data processing:

You can choose the sheet with your main table in the Select your main sheet drop-down list.

The add-on highlights the entire table in the sheet of interest by default. You can edit the range either by manually typing the address in the Select the range with your table field or by clicking the Select range icon. You will then see a corresponding dialog box that will let you pick the necessary cells:

Don't forget the Create a backup copy of the sheet checkbox to keep the original table.

Click Next to go to the second step.

Step 2: Choose the lookup sheet

The lookup sheet is the table that contains the information you want to copy to your main sheet.

Choose the table using the Select the lookup sheet list with all available sheets.

Select the range with your table field will display the address of cells with your data. You can edit it manually, change it by highlighting a different range in the lookup table, or use the Select range icon and alter the range in the corresponding pop-up window:

Click Next to proceed to the third step, or edit the main table by going Back.

Step 3: Identify matching columns

Here you are to pick those columns that appear in your both tables (key columns). The add-on will compare these columns to identify the same (matching) records.

1. To see column titles, check the Main table has headers and Lookup table has headers boxes respectively. If there are no headers in your tables, uncheck these boxes to display column names instead.
2. The 1st row content fields will help you see the top values in the main table columns.
3. The add-on can find complete row matches if you use the top checkbox to select all columns.
4. You can use the Auto detect button to select all columns with the same headers in your tables.
   Tip. All such columns are marked in bold in the Main table columns list.
5. If you don't want to match empty cells, check the option to Ignore blanks.
6. Make sure you choose the lookup table columns to compare to the main table columns.

Click Next to go on to step 4.

Step 4: Pick columns to add or update in the main sheet

On this step, you are to decide what to do with other columns of the lookup table:

1. Tick off the column of interest, click on the Action field and choose what to do with the column:
   • All columns selected as matching on step 3 are displayed with the light gray mark Match with and are grouped at the top of the list by default.
   • The Update values in option will look up the same contents in matching columns and replace corresponding records in the columns you pick on this step:
     
   • Choose to Add a missing column to the end, and its values will be inserted for all matching records in a new column to the right of the original table:
     
2. Check this box to select all columns at once and add their values to the end of the original table. Uncheck back to unselect all columns if you don't want to add or update any.
3. The Auto detect button will automatically pick the Update values in action for all remaining columns with the same headers.
4. If there are lots of columns, you can filter the list using the respective option in the Show columns drop-down list:
   

Click Next to follow to the last step.

Step 5: Tweak additional options

This step offers a set of additional options to match, update, or add the values:

Add rows and columns

• Add non-matching rows to the end of the main table. The add-on will insert the rows with key records that are present only in your lookup table. Thus, if you have any new records, you'll transfer them to the appropriate columns in the main table even if their order is different:
  
• Add a status column. This one will show the changes made to the rows and mark them as Matching, Matching and updated, Non-matching, or New row.

Update cells

• Update only empty and new cells in the main table. If you have blank cells in the column you are updating in your main table, keep all cells that already have records untouched. The existing values in the main table will not be overwritten:
  
• To avoid copying empty cells from the lookup table, tick off the option Update only if cells from the lookup table contain data:
  

Highlight cells

• If you already have some rows highlighted, you can remove their current filling using the Clear background color in the columns you are updating option. Any existing background color in the column you selected to update will be reset to the default one.
• You can see all cells that were changed in the main table by selecting the option Set background color of updated cells.

Get the results

Click Finish to merge the tables and you'll see the number of inserted columns, added and updated rows: