PlanMaker SHEETS: Count Worksheets and Multi-Sheet References

• Introduced: Documented by the PlanMaker 2021 reference; the original introduction release is not established.
• Availability: Documented in PlanMaker 2026; no final working-version 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.

=SHEETS([Reference])

The official SHEETS reference defines a count of referenced worksheets, including visible and hidden ones. If the argument is omitted, it counts worksheets in the current workbook.

A reference is not a request for a cell’s numeric value. Changing A1 from 25 to 100 does not change the fact that A1 refers to one worksheet. SHEETS also differs from SHEET: the latter returns a worksheet’s position, rather than a count of referenced sheets.

Documentation correction: The reference’s heading and syntax say SHEETS, but its three example calls are printed as SHEET. Their descriptions discuss worksheet counts. The formulas below use the plural SHEETS specified by the heading and syntax; do not copy the singular spelling from that example block.

Use a separate practice workbook with exactly these worksheet tabs in this order: Summary, Expenses, Archive. Remove or rename unused default sheets in the practice copy so the count is unambiguous.

On Summary, enter the numeric value 25 in A1. Use B2:B5 for these formulas:

B2 counts the workbook’s sheets. B3 counts the single worksheet referenced by A1. B4 and B5 are position controls using the distinct SHEET function.

Change only A1 to 100, then recalculate if needed. B3’s expected count remains 1. Restore A1 to 25 afterward. The result is about reference coverage, not the cell’s contents or the number of populated rows.

On Expenses, place =SHEETS() in B2 and =SHEET() in B3. Their expected values are 3 and 2, making the count-versus-index difference visible on a non-first sheet.

Keep the same workbook order. On Summary, enter these formulas in D2:D3:

The first reference spans Summary through Expenses; the second spans Summary through Archive. A worksheet is counted because it is part of the reference, regardless of whether its A1 cell is populated. The reference syntax follows the multi-worksheet example in SoftMaker’s entry, with the function-name correction noted above.

The chosen names have no spaces, keeping the example independent of quoting rules for more complicated names. This guide does not infer how every discontiguous, external or malformed reference is handled.

In a separate copy of the three-sheet workbook, hide Archive using PlanMaker’s worksheet controls, without deleting it. On Summary, =SHEETS() should still give 3, according to the documented inclusion of hidden worksheets. A full-workbook count is therefore not a count of currently visible tabs.

Restore Archive’s visibility after the check. Do not delete a real production worksheet to test this behavior. Hiding a sheet is a presentation change; it is not proof that its data is protected from other workbook users.

In another practice copy, add a fourth worksheet named Notes after Archive. The expected workbook count becomes 4, while =SHEETS(A1) on Summary still refers to one worksheet and remains 1.

The original span Summary:Archive continues to cover the first three sheets in that specified layout. If you insert Notes inside the span instead, you are changing the reference’s worksheet coverage; record the exact tab order before comparing counts. An index and a sheet count should not be used interchangeably as permanent identifiers.

The 2021 reference already documents SHEETS, including the same singular-name example discrepancy. This establishes historical documentation, not its first introduction release or a native runtime change.

SoftMaker says the corresponding Excel function requires Excel 2013 or later. That date does not establish PlanMaker’s introduction version. The checked help does not enumerate every native error code or every special-sheet type and workbook format.

Use SHEET for a worksheet index and SHEETNAME for its name. SHEETNUMBER is a retained legacy index function with distinct cell-reference semantics and an Excel-export warning.