Get New Spreadsheet Functionality from Your Old Google Sheet Data

In the old version of Google Sheets, if you filtered your data, it would change the view for everyone who was accessing the document. Confusing and frustrating, as your content kept switching on you!

One of the advantages of using the new version of Google Sheets is Filter Views. This tool allows you to

• filter your information by field content
• create pre-set views that you can share with others.

Best part of all, it would not affect the view of others!

Video credit: +Google Gooru (http://googlegooru.com)

Using new sheets with your old data

If you have already existing data in the old version of Google Sheets, you don't have to re-create your spreadsheets in the new version (I'm running some Google Apps Scripts that only work in the old version). If all I want to do is manipulate the date for different reports, I can use the ImportRange function to bring the existing data from the old sheets into the new sheets:

=IMPORTRANGE("spreadsheet_key", "range_string")

I just enter the spreadsheet ID number from the old sheet's URL, as well as the sheet name and range of data I want to bring in.

=IMPORTRANGE("1R0nUpLMVmOkygrdo0Hdz", "StudentQueries!A1:J10000")

The content from the old sheet now appears in my new sheet. As this is a form that is constantly being added to, I made sure the row number is quite large. With the document open the data may take some time to refresh if the original sheet is being used for a form. Just refresh to get the most up to date information.

How do you use ImportRange?

Video credit to +Google Gooru