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How to reference or link value in unopened/closed Excel workbook file?

Author Siluvia Last modified

Normally, when referencing cell value from other workbook, you need to open the workbook firstly. How about directly reference cell value from a closed workbook? This article will show you methods of referencing cell value from a certain worksheet of an unopened workbook file.

Reference value from unopened/closed Excel file with formula
Insert all data of a certain worksheet from unopened/closed Excel file with Kutools for Excel

Reference value from unopened/closed Excel file with formula

Supposing your closed workbook named test locates in the path E:\Excel file\ of your computer, and you want to reference value of cell A2 from Sheet2 of this closed workbook. Please do as follows.

1. Select a blank cell to place the referenced cell value, enter formula into the Formula Bar, and then press the Enter key. See screenshot:

=INDEX('E:\Excel file\[test.xlsx]Sheet2'!A:A,2,1)

Reference value from closed file with a formula

Notes:

1). In the formula, E:\Excel file\ is the full file path of the unopened workbook, test.xlsx is the name of the workbook, Sheet2 is the sheet name which contains the cell value you need to reference from, and A:A,2,1 means the cell A2 will be referenced in the closed workbook. You can change them based on your needs.
2). If you want to manually select a worksheet to reference, please apply the below formula. After applying the formula, a Select Sheet dialog box pops up, please select a worksheet and then click the OK button. Then the certain cell value of this worksheet will be referenced immediately.

=INDEX('E:\Excel file\[test.xlsx]sheetname'!A:A,2,1)

use a formula to manually select a worksheet to reference

Insert all data of a certain worksheet from unopened/closed Excel file with Kutools for Excel

If you want to insert the whole worksheet content from a closed Excel file, here I recommend you the Insert File at Cursor utility of Kutools for Excel. Please follow the below steps to get it done.

Kutools for Excel offers over 300 advanced features to streamline complex tasks, boosting creativity and efficiency. Itegarate with AI capabilities, Kutools automates tasks with precision, making data management effortless. Detailed information of Kutools for Excel...         Free trial...

1. Select a blank cell which you want the referenced worksheet to start with, then click Kutools Plus > Import & Export > Insert File at Cursor. 

click Insert File at Cursor feature of kutools

2. In the Insert File at Cursor dialog box, click the Browse button.

click the Browse button

3. In the Select a file to be inserted at the cell cursor position dialog box, find and select the closed workbook you want to reference, and then press the Open button. See screenshot:

select the closed workbook you want to reference

4. Now it returns to the Insert File at Cursor dialog box, you can check any one of the Value only (no formulas) and Do not transfer formatting options as you need, and then click the OK button. In the next popping up Select a Worksheet dialog box, specify a worksheet, and click the OK button. See screenshot:

set options in the dialog boxes

Now the whole content in selected worksheet of specified unopened workbook is referenced in current worksheet.

Note: Besides referencing values from unopened workbook, you can also reference values from unopened Txt or CSV file with this utility.

  If you want to have a free trial (30-day) of this utility, please click to download it, and then go to apply the operation according above steps.

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