There's a quiet frustration buried in this question, and it's one we hear constantly from spreadsheet users who have outgrown the static grid. The user wants a table that expands its columns automatically based on a single input number, say, type 3, and two new columns appear, complete with the same formulas as the original. They've tried SEQUENCE, Power Query, and even considered macros, only to hit a wall. Our take is simple: this should not be this hard, and the fact that it is tells you everything about the limits of traditional spreadsheets.
Let's be clear about what's happening here. The user isn't asking for anything exotic. They have a base column with formulas, and they want the system to replicate that logic across additional columns based on a number they control. That's a dynamic range problem, and while SEQUENCE can generate numbers and Power Query can reshape data, neither is built to make your sheet's structure itself respond to a value in a cell. Macros could do it, but they're off the table, likely due to security settings or a managed environment. So the user is stuck in the gap between what static tools offer and what their workflow demands.
This is where the conversation shifts from a technical workaround to a philosophical one. If you're spending your days wrestling with conditional column generation, you're not looking for a better formula, you're looking for a tool that treats your data as a living system rather than a fixed canvas. The fact that you have to even ask this question suggests you've already sensed the ceiling of your current setup. And you're right to feel that way. The future of spreadsheets isn't about doing the same tasks faster; it's about having the structure adapt to your input, not the other way around.
So here's the practical takeaway: stop forcing a legacy tool to behave like a dynamic application. If you're constrained to a traditional spreadsheet and can't use macros, you'll keep fighting the grid. But this exact scenario, dynamic columns, formula inheritance, and a single input driving it all, is precisely where AI-native tools step in. They don't ask you to manually drag, copy, or re-engineer your sheet. They let you describe what you need, and the structure responds. The user's question is a perfect example of a problem that shouldn't exist, and its existence points to a better way forward. Explore a solution that treats your input as the instruction, not the exception.