PlanMaker SHEETNUMBER: Legacy Sheet Indices and Safe Migration
Understand PlanMaker’s retained SHEETNUMBER function, test its text-in-cell behavior and avoid changing results when migrating to SHEET.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
Legacy compatibility notice: PlanMaker still documents SHEETNUMBER for older workbooks and recommends SHEET for future formulas. The replacement is not identical when an argument is a cell reference. Saving SHEETNUMBER formulas in Excel format replaces their calculations with fixed results, according to SoftMaker.
Quick answer: =SHEETNUMBER("Expenses") returns the position of the worksheet named Expenses. If that worksheet is second in the workbook, the expected result is 2.
Availability and version history
- Introduced: Documented by the PlanMaker 2010 manual; the original introduction release is not established.
- Availability: Retained for older workbooks in the 2026 reference, with SHEET recommended as its successor. No retirement endpoint is established.
- Scope: The reference belongs to the 2026/NX manual family. Individual FreeOffice and mobile builds are not verified here.
- Checked: October 14, 2026, against the official function reference. Worksheet outcomes follow documented rules and independent mapping checks; no native PlanMaker test was performed.
Syntax and the original purpose
=SHEETNUMBER([SheetName])
The optional argument identifies a worksheet by name. With no argument, the function returns the index of the current worksheet. Indices begin at 1, not zero. The 2010 manual documents these original rules, and the current SHEET reference explains the retained function’s important difference from its replacement.
Square brackets are documentation notation for an optional argument. Type =SHEETNUMBER() for the omitted case; do not type the brackets or assume that passing an empty cell is equivalent to omitting the argument.
Build a workbook with a known sheet order
Use a separate practice workbook containing exactly three worksheets in this order:
- Summary
- Expenses
- Archive
Rename or remove unused default sheets in the practice copy so they do not change the positions. On Summary, type the text Expenses in A1, without quotation marks. Use B2:B6 for these formulas:
| Cell on Summary | Formula | Independently expected result |
|---|---|---|
| B2 | =SHEETNUMBER() |
1 |
| B3 | =SHEETNUMBER("Expenses") |
2 |
| B4 | =SHEETNUMBER("Archive") |
3 |
| B5 | =SHEETNUMBER(A1) |
2 |
| B6 | =SHEET(A1) |
1 |
B5 reads A1’s text, Expenses, and looks up that worksheet. B6 uses the worksheet containing the reference A1, which is Summary. This distinction follows SoftMaker’s explicit comparison; the two results answer different questions.
On Archive, enter =SHEETNUMBER() in B2. Its expected index is 3. An index is a position within this workbook, not a permanent identifier shared with other files.
Advanced: migrate by meaning, not by renaming the function
On Summary, use D2:D4 for a deliberate migration comparison:
- D2:
=SHEET("Expenses")→ 2 - D3:
=SHEET()→ 1 - D4:
=SHEET(A1)→ 1
The first two preserve the intended literal-name and omitted-argument cases. D4 does not preserve B5’s text-driven selection. Replacing every occurrence of SHEETNUMBER with SHEET would silently change that formula from 2 to 1.
If A1 is meant to choose a worksheet by its text, preserve that requirement when redesigning the formula. A literal name is suitable only if the choice is intentionally fixed. This guide does not present an untested automatic conversion for arbitrary names, quoted names or external references.
As another check, change only A1 from Expenses to Archive. B5 should now be 3, while B6 and D4 remain 1. Restore A1 to Expenses after this exercise; the other literal-name formulas are unaffected by this particular input change.
Workbook order and export limits
In a separate copy of the practice workbook, put Archive before Expenses while leaving Summary first. After recalculation, the logical worksheet order is Summary=1, Archive=2, Expenses=3. A name-based query for Expenses should therefore give 3, rather than its original 2. Record the order with your expected results.
The current compatibility entry warns that saving in Excel format turns SHEETNUMBER calculations into their current fixed values. A fixed 2 or 3 cannot respond to later worksheet changes as a live formula would. Keep an original PlanMaker copy and check the exported file before depending on its behavior.
Errors and related functions
Use worksheet names that actually exist in the practice workbook. The checked pages do not specify every error for a missing name, a numeric or blank reference, an external workbook or unusual sheet-name characters. Do not invent those outcomes or treat zero as a valid replacement for a failed lookup.
SHEET is the documented successor with different cell-reference semantics. SHEETS counts worksheets, while SHEETNAME returns a name from a worksheet index. None of these results is automatically a stable record key.