Excel Copy Worksheet to Another Workbook Without Reference

One of the common scenarios in Excel is to copy an existing sheet and have it on another workbook. But the problem arises when some formulas are linked with another sheet. When you copy those sheets from that workbook and paste that on another workbook, it is automatically linked with that source workbook, or it already has some formulas in it. These source formulas or links are called references. In this tutorial, we will show you how to copy a worksheet to another workbook without reference in Excel.


Download Practice Workbook

You can download the practice workbook from here.


What Is a Worksheet with Reference?

First, we have to understand what a worksheet is with references. Let’s take a look at this dataset in our main workbook named Sales In Every Month.

excel copy worksheet to another workbook without reference

Here, we want to show the Month and Demand on a new worksheet named Demands Only like the image below.

Here we can see the Total of demands is calculated using the SUM function.

Again, we can see that the data on this worksheet comes from the original worksheet named Sales In Every Month as shown in the image below.

These are called references and the SUM function containing cells are called linked cells. So we will now simply copy and paste the data in another workbook named Copied Without Reference.

Those data will also contain links and references as shown in the image below.

So, we want to copy the worksheet to another workbook like the upper image but without reference.


 2 Easy Ways to Copy Worksheet to Another Workbook Without Reference in Excel

There are two different ways to copy a worksheet to another workbook without reference or formulas in Excel. The two methods are completely different based on application and preference. Will describe both of them below with easy steps.

1. Using the Paste Values Option

This is a quick and easy method applicable for worksheets with fewer data and connections like our prior example. The steps are below.

🔶 Steps:

  • First, copy the entire dataset by selecting it and pressing Ctrl+C.

  • Second, go to the desired workbook where you want to paste the data. In our case, the workbook is Copied Without Reference.

  • Third, select any cell in the worksheet, and in the Home tab, go to Paste in the Clipboard Select Value & Source Formatting there like shown below.

Using Paste Values Option to Copy Worksheet to Another Workbook Without Reference in Excel

Now we will have our copied data without any reference.

Using Paste Values Option to Copy Worksheet to Another Workbook Without Reference in Excel


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2. Use of Move or Copy and Break Link Commands

If we have a blank workbook and we need to copy a worksheet containing a large amount of data to another workbook without reference in Excel, this method is applicable. The steps are below.

🔶 Steps:

  • First, go to the source file and worksheet. Here are desired worksheet that is Demands Only in the Original Data File workbook.

  • Next, we will right-click on the Demand Only tab in the sheets section. Then select Move or Copy. A small dialog box will appear named Move or Copy.

Use of Sheets Tab and Ribbon to Copy Worksheet to Another Workbook without Reference in Excel

  • After that, in that box, please select the destination workbook in the To book Here our destination workbook is Copied Without Reference. Also, select Create a Copy at the bottom of the box.

Copy worksheet to another workbook in excel

  • Again, pressing OK will immediately create a new sheet called Demand Only in the Copied Without Reference workbook.

  • Now in the Copied Without Reference workbook, go to the Data tab in the Ribbon, and click on Edit Links in the Queries and Connection A dialog box named Edit Links will appear.

Use of Sheets Tab and Ribbon to Copy Worksheet to Another Workbook without Reference in Excel

  • Further in the Edit Links box, select Break Links.

Use of Sheets Tab and Ribbon to Copy Worksheet to Another Workbook without Reference in Excel

As a result, this will trigger a prompt warning about breaking the links. Again, click on Break Links on that prompt as well.

  • Finally, click on Close in the Edit Links Now we can see there are no references and there are values only like the Paste feature as well.


How to Copy a Worksheet to Another Workbook with Reference in Excel

So, we want to copy the worksheet to another workbook using the VBA method. Let’s say we want to copy the Sales In Every Month and Demands Only named sheets in the Copied Without Reference workbook from the Original Data File workbook. We will follow these steps.

🔶 Steps:

  • At first, we will go to the Developer tab in the Ribbon and click on Visual Basic. Microsoft Visual Basic for Application window will appear.

  • Then in the window, click on Insert >> Module.

How to Copy Worksheet to Another Workbook with VBA

  • Next in the writing space, write the following code:
Sub Sheet_copy()

Dim sh As Worksheet, wb As Workbook

Set wb = Workbooks("Copied Without Reference.xlsx")
For Each sh In Workbooks("Original Data File.xlsx").Worksheets
sh.Copy After:=wb.Sheets(wb.Sheets.Count)
Next sh

End Sub

How to Copy Worksheet to Another Workbook with VBA

Code Breakdown:

  • First, we created a SUBROUTINE named Sheet_copy.
  • Second, we declared 2 variables sh and wb.
  • Third, we set the wb variable as the destination workbook named Copied Without Reference.
  • Consequently, we declared a loop that will copy all the worksheets in the Original Data File workbook.

  • Now we will press the Run button in the tools bar.

  • We can see the desired worksheet is in our destination workbook.

Now we will press the Run button in the tools bar. We can see the desired worksheet is in our destination workbook.


Things to Remember

  • You can use any of the three options under the Paste Values section based on your preference.
  • For the Sheet tab options, remember to click on Create a Copy. Otherwise, the source workbook will lose the worksheet.
  • After breaking links through the Break Links option, the process is irreversible. Make sure to back the sheet up if needed.

Conclusion

I hope this tutorial helped you with that particular problem. Using these 2 ways will help you to copy the worksheet to another workbook without reference in Excel. If you’re still having trouble with any of these methods, let us know in the comments. Our team is ready to answer all of your questions. For any excel-related problems, you can visit our website Exceldemy for solutions.


Further Readings

A.N.M. Mohaimen Shanto

A.N.M. Mohaimen Shanto

Hello! I am Shanto. An Excel & VBA Content Developer. My goal is to provide our readers with great tutorials on various Excel-related problems. I hope our easy but effective tutorials will enrich your knowledge. I have completed my BSc in Computer Science & Engineering from Daffodil International University. Working with data was always my passion. Love to work with data, analyze those, and find patterns. Also, love to research. Always look for challenges to keep me growing.

2 Comments
  1. Is it possible to paste with formulas but without reference workbook? Currently, I’m using “find and replace” and replacing with nothing, but that trick always makes me nervous. Thank you.

  2. Hello Helen,
    You can do it without using the find and replace command. To do this follow the steps carefully.
    1. First, go to the Formula tab on the ribbon.
    2. Then, Select Show Formulas from the Formula Auditing section.
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    3. As a result, it will show you the formulas that you use in the workbook.
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    4. Now, copy the formulas and paste them into a notepad.
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    5. Then, press Ctrl+A to select all and after that, press Ctrl+C to copy.
    6. In a new workbook, paste it by pressing Ctrl +V. As a consequence, you will see the formulas are copied accurately without a reference workbook.
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