Cross-GeoSheet References (IMPORTRANGE)

GeoSheet supports cross-GeoSheet references through the IMPORTRANGE formula. Pull a range of cells from any GeoSheet you have access to into another sheet, and the values stay in sync as the source changes. This unlocks a single-source-of-truth pattern that's hard to express within a single document — master data lives once, and every other GeoSheet that needs it reads from there.

Basic syntax

=IMPORTRANGE(source, range)

• source — the GeoSheet to pull from. Accepts either the GeoSheet's name (in quotes) or its URL:
  • "Customers" — by name
  • "https://geosheet.app/s/abc123" — by URL
• range — the cells you want, in quotes. Accepts:
  • A single cell: "A1"
  • A rectangle: "A1:E200"
  • A range on a specific tab: "Summary!B2:D50"

The formula goes in the top-left cell of where you want the imported data to land. Values spill from there to the right and down to fill the requested range.

=IMPORTRANGE("Customers", "A1:E200")
=IMPORTRANGE("Q3 Sales", "Summary!B2:D50")
=IMPORTRANGE("https://geosheet.app/s/abc123", "Inputs!B2")

What you can import

Imported cells preserve their type — IMPORTRANGE isn't a string copy, it's a live reference. That means:

• Numbers stay numbers and can feed SUM, AVERAGE, math operators, etc.
• Dates stay dates and can be compared, formatted, or used in temporal formulas.
• Spatial types (POINT, MULTIPOINT, LINE, POLYGON, MULTIPOLYGON, COLLECTION) come through as their native types — you can immediately drop them on a map, build a TRADEAREA, or feed them to GEOFENCE without re-geocoding or re-parsing.
• Formulas in the source resolve to their values before being imported. The consumer sheet sees the result, not the formula text.

How freshness works

While the consumer GeoSheet is open, IMPORTRANGE polls the source for changes in the background. Updates propagate without any manual sync — typically within about a minute of the source being edited.

You'll see two transient states on imported cells:

• #PENDING — first load is in flight, or the source is being re-checked. Resolves on its own.
• A short delay between an edit on the source and the new value showing up on the consumer — expected; that's the poll cadence.

If the consumer sheet is closed, no polling happens. When you reopen it, the next poll cycle catches the consumer up to the source.

Seeing your connections

GeoSheet surfaces active IMPORTRANGE connections in a few places so you don't have to go hunting for them.

Sheet tab icon — any sheet tab with at least one IMPORTRANGE formula shows a small chain-link icon. Hover to see the formula count on that sheet.

Status bar pill — when the doc is actively importing data, a pill appears at the bottom: 2 imports · refreshed 4m ago. Click it to open the References panel. The pill stays hidden when there's nothing to import.

References panel — open it via the References button in the toolbar, the status bar pill, or the sheet tab icon. It shows both directions in one place:

• This doc imports from — sources this doc has IMPORTRANGE formulas pointing at, with last sync time and connection status
• This doc is imported by — GeoSheets that are pulling data from this one, with revoke and restore controls

Opening the panel from a sheet tab icon defaults to filtering the imports list to that specific sheet. A toggle at the top lets you expand to all sheets in the doc.

Source-side governance

From the References panel you can revoke any consumer at any time. This is a hard cut — the consumer's IMPORTRANGE cells flip to #REF immediately and the source values stop flowing through, so the consumer sheet will visibly break wherever those cells are used. Revoking a reference does not notify the consumer, so use this for cases like "this doc was shared too widely" or "that consumer is out of scope now," not as a routine permission tweak.

To restore a revoked reference, open the References panel and click Restore next to the revoked consumer. Live values come back within about a minute.

Common patterns

Master data. Maintain a list of customers, locations, products, or KPIs in one GeoSheet. Every regional, team, or scenario sheet pulls a slice of that master with IMPORTRANGE. Edit once, propagate everywhere — no copy-paste between sheets.

Roll-ups. Each team owns its own GeoSheet (Eastern Region, Western Region, etc.). A parent dashboard pulls a few key cells from each with IMPORTRANGE. No shared editing, no merge conflicts, and the dashboard always shows live numbers.

Reusable spatial datasets. Maintain a curated set of geocoded points, service-area polygons, or reference geometries in one GeoSheet. Import them into any new analysis sheet — the spatial types arrive ready to map or feed into spatial formulas.

Layered analysis. Chain references: a "raw data" sheet feeds a "cleaned" sheet, which feeds a "summary" sheet. Each layer stays its own document, owned by whoever should own it, and changes propagate down the chain automatically.

Limitations and gotchas

• Read-only. IMPORTRANGE is one-way. Editing imported cells in the consumer sheet doesn't write back to the source — the source is always the source of truth.
• Permissions are inherited. You can only IMPORTRANGE from a GeoSheet you have at least view access to. If your access is revoked at the GeoSheet level (e.g., the owner removes you from sharing), the imported cells flip to #REF on the next poll.
• No partial picks within a row. IMPORTRANGE pulls a contiguous rectangle. If you only want some columns, import the wider range and use formulas (or hide columns) to narrow the view in the consumer sheet.
• Same workspace recommended. Cross-workspace references work, but the consumer must have access to the source workspace (it doesn't grant access automatically).
• Naming the source by name vs. URL. Name-based references resolve at evaluation time — if you rename the source GeoSheet, name-based consumers find the new name automatically. URL-based references are stable through renames but break if the source is moved across workspaces. Pick whichever matches your stability needs.

Troubleshooting

• #REF — most commonly means the source has been revoked from the Referenced by panel, or your access to the source GeoSheet was removed. Open the source and check the panel; or check your sharing settings.
• #PENDING that doesn't resolve — usually a first-load delay. If it persists past a minute, the source name or URL probably doesn't resolve; double-check the spelling or paste the URL fresh.
• Old values lingering after you edited the source — open the consumer sheet (polling only runs while it's open). If it's already open, give it about a minute. The cadence is steady but not instant.
• Want to force a refresh — re-edit the IMPORTRANGE formula (any small change, then Enter). That triggers an immediate sync without waiting for the next poll.