Make a list of these names (the names of worksheets) in a range such as
A1:A30
Then use the INDIRECT function in the form
=INDIRECT("'["&A1&".xls]Sheet1'!$B$25")

This works only when the other file is open. However, Laurent Longre has an
addin (morefunc.xll) at: http://xcell05.free.fr/ includes =indirect.ext()
that allows you to return values from closed workbooks.
best wishes
--
Bernard V Liengme
Microsoft Excel MVP
http://people.stfx.ca/bliengme
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"Dave Young" wrote in message
...
No, the workbooks have names of the places where the equipment is located.

"Bernard Liengme" wrote:

Do the workbooks have a names that look like a series?
Like: Jan , Feb, Apr...
Or: Book1, Book2, ....

best wishes
--
Bernard V Liengme
Microsoft Excel MVP
http://people.stfx.ca/bliengme
remove caps from email

"Dave Young" <Dave wrote in message
...
How can I automate collecting information from 30+ workbooks that all
have
the same format (i.e. Cell B25 in all workbooks has the same type of
information) and generating a report or another spreadsheet from the
collected information.

For example, all of my workbooks contain information about equipment at
30
different locations. I would like to query all of the workbooks and
get a
list of what is contained in Excel Cell B25.