Get value of same cell from multiple sheets

Question

I'd like to get the value of cell A1 from multiple tabs in my sheet. I attempted to use INDIRECT , only to be reminded that it wouldn't work in an ARRAYFORMULA . Is there some sort of "makeshifty" formula that would do the same thing?

This is what I originally attempted:

 =ArrayFormula(IF(LEN(A2:A),INDIRECT(A2:A&"!A1"),))

Column A is a select list of the tab names in my sheet. So the first instance works, but of course, it doesn't populate down the column as I had hoped. I realize I can just copy the formula down the column, but some type of an ARRAYFORMULA would be ideal as I add rows to the list.

I found this answer , but don't see how I could apply it to my situation.

I also found this answer , but thought since it's 2.5 years old, maybe someone has discovered a clever way to avoid the drag of copying.

Answer 1

Answer:

You need to do this with a script or by using the drag method - INDIRECT uses a string reference and so can't be used with an array.

More Information:

Unfortunately for the user of INDIRECT with ARRAYFORMULA , a discovery of a clever method isn't the issue - the limitation of what can be done with only formulae that is the root of this problem.

Setting up a custom function:

From the Tools > Script editor menu item, you can create scripts. An example custom formula that you could use would be as follows:

function ARRAYINDIRECT(input) {  
  var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
  return input.reduce(function(array, el) {
    if (el[0]) array.push(el[0])
    return array;
  }, []).map(x => ss.getSheetByName(x).getRange("A1").getValue());
}

Make sure to then save the script with the save icon.

In your Sheet you can then call this custom formula as so:

=ARRAYINDIRECT(A2:A)

Rundown of the function:

• Takes the input range from where the formula is called - in this case A2:A
• Reduces the input to remove all cells that are empty
• Maps the name of the sheet which is stored in the cell to the value in A1 of the sheet it references
• Returns an array to output

I hope this is helpful to you!

References:

• JavaScript Array reduce() Method
• INDIRECT - Docs Editors Help
• ARRAYFORMULA - Docs Editors Help