# Referencing a Cell in Another Document

/text/scalc/guide/cellreferences.xhp
sheet references
references; to cells in other sheets/documents
cells; operating in another document
documents;references
mw made "sheet references;" a one level entry
MW changed "references;" and added "documents;"
Referencing Other Sheets
In a sheet cell you can show a reference to a cell in another sheet.
In the same way, a reference can also be made to a cell from another document provided that this document has already been saved as a file.
To Reference a Cell in the Same Document
- Open a new, empty spreadsheet.
- By way of example, enter the following formula in cell A1 of Sheet1:
  =Sheet2.A1
- Click the Sheet 2 tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet. Set the cursor in cell A1 there and enter text or a number.
- If you switch back to Sheet1, you will see the same content in cell A1 there. If the contents of Sheet2.A1 change, then the contents of Sheet1.A1 also change.
To Reference a Cell in Another Document
- Choose File - Open, to load an existing spreadsheet document.
- Choose File - New, to open a new spreadsheet document. Set the cursor in the cell where you want to insert the external data and enter an equals sign to indicate that you want to begin a formula.
- Now switch to the document you have just loaded. Click the cell with the data that you want to insert in the new document.
- Switch back to the new spreadsheet. In the input line you will now see how $[officename] Calc has added the reference to the formula for you.
  The reference to a cell of another document contains the name of the other document in single inverted commas, then a hash #, then the name of the sheet of the other document, followed by a point and the name of the cell.
- Confirm the formula by clicking the green check mark.
- If you drag the box in the lower right corner of the active cell to select a range of cells, $[officename] automatically inserts the corresponding references in the adjacent cells. As a result, the sheet name is preceded with a "$" sign to designate it as an absolute reference.
If you examine the name of the other document in this formula, you will notice that it is written as a URL. This means that you can also enter a URL from the Internet.