Hey everyone! I’m really stuck on a tricky Google Sheets problem. I’ve got three different workbooks I need to link together:
- A product catalog with recipes for each product type
- A schedule with tabs for each product and its variations
- A components sheet with tabs for each part we need
What I’m trying to do is pull info from the catalog and schedule to fill out the components sheet. I want to list all the specific product versions that use each component.
I’ve tried using QUERY, ARRAYFORMULA, and other formulas, but I can’t figure it out. The real data has hundreds of products and components, so it needs to work at scale.
Has anyone tackled something like this before? I’d love some tips on which formulas or methods might work best. Thanks for any help you can give!
I’ve tackled similar projects before and can say they’re definitely doable. One method that worked well was combining QUERY with IMPORTRANGE. You could start by using IMPORTRANGE to import data from multiple sheets into a single workbook, then create a master table that consolidates all the relevant data. Once you have the master table, use QUERY to filter and organize your information effectively.
Paying attention to your data structure from the beginning really saves time later. Also, consider using pivot tables to summarize large datasets and even Google Apps Script for more complex manipulations if needed.
I’ve dealt with similar challenges in my work. One effective approach is using QUERY in combination with IMPORTRANGE and ARRAY_CONSTRAIN. This allows you to pull data from multiple sheets and then filter it efficiently.
First, use IMPORTRANGE to bring in data from your other sheets. Then, wrap that in an ARRAY_CONSTRAIN to manage the data size. Finally, use QUERY to filter and organize the information as needed.
For example:
=QUERY(ARRAY_CONSTRAIN(IMPORTRANGE(“sheet_url”, “range”), 1000, 50), “your query here”)
This method scales well for large datasets. You might also consider using named ranges to make your formulas more readable and easier to maintain. If you’re still struggling, Google Apps Script could be a powerful alternative for more complex operations.
hey claire29, sounds like a tough one! have u tried IMPORTRANGE with VLOOKUP? that combo can work wonders for pulling data across sheets. might need to set up some helper columns to make it smoother. good luck with ur project!