Microsoft® Office Excel® 2003 Step by Step

Linking to Data in Other Workbooks

Cutting and pasting data from one workbook to another is a quick and easy way to gather related data in one place, but there is a substantial limitation: if the data from the original cell changes, the change is not reflected in the cell to which the data was copied. In other words, cutting and pasting a cell’s contents doesn’t create a relationship between the original cell and the target cell.

You can ensure that the data in the target cell will reflect any changes in the original cell by creating a link between the two cells. Rather than enter a value into the target cell by typing or pasting, you create a type of formula that identifies the source from which Excel will derive the target cell’s value.

To create ...