INDEX(INDIRECT("DefinedName"),1)=#REF while INDEX(DefinedName,1) works - excel

Question

In an excel workbook, I'm referencing a defined name from another tab (to get dependent data validation). Accessing the defined name directly works, but accessing it through INDIRECT doesn't.
=INDEX(DefinedName,1) returns the first value of the range
=INDEX(INDIRECT("DefinedName"),1) returns #REF!
I have also tried
=INDEX(INDIRECT("SheetName!DefinedName"),1), but it also returns #REF!
Sample file can be downloaded here.

Answer 1

Thomas,
I hadn't come accross this before.
It appeas that INDIRECT and dynamic range names are incompatible. There is a useful reference here from Dicks blog

Answer 2

Not quite an answer, but it may have something to do with the fact that your named range is returning an array instead of a cell reference (in this case {"VALL";"GENADMIN";"HOSP";"CELLAR"}).
You can replicate the error by removing the named range and replacing it with its actual formula, and then F9'ing the formula:
=INDIRECT(OFFSET(Defaults!$C$1,1,0,COUNTA(Defaults!$C:$C)-1))
=INDIRECT({"VALL";"GENADMIN";"HOSP";"CELLAR"})
Since Excel is expecting some sort of reference to a sheet range, it is failing here since it can't resolve the array to anything specific (pressing F9 again yields ={#REF!;#REF!;#REF!;#REF!}).
The INDEX formula works because it can handle the array reference:
=INDEX(OFFSET(Defaults!$C$1,1,0,COUNTA(Defaults!$C:$C)-1),1)
=INDEX({"VALL";"GENADMIN";"HOSP";"CELLAR"},1)
={"VALL"}
Not an expert, but that's my best crack at it.

Answer 3

This absolutely will work. Maybe they were incompatible in 2012, but they certainly work in 2018. I imagine it would have also worked in 2012 if used correctly.
The INDIRECT function attempts to turn TEXT into a range reference. That TEXT must be a valid reference.
A named range is already a Range Reference. There is no need to get a reference from a reference. This is why the OP example works without using INDIRECT.
A more likely implementation would be if you had the value "DefinedName" from the OP, or any named range in a cell. Then point INDIRECT to that cell where it find plain ol' text. Then it turns that text into a range reference.
You can even use formulas in the INDIRECT to modify the reference. A common approach might be to have a Sheet name in a cell and then use INDIRECT to pull data from various sheets. This is primarily useful when you want to copy and paste formulas and have the sheet (or cell) reference dynamically adjust to a new target.
Setup
Start with a blank workbook which should contain three blank worksheets, (Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3) If not, get to that point. Then enter the following basics:
Sheet 1
Cell A1, enter "Range Reference"
Cell A2, enter "SUM from Sheet"
Cell B1 enter "Sheet2!A1:A4" (Note there is no "=" This text is a range reference.)
Cell C1, enter "THIRD_SHEET" (This text is equivalent to a named range we'll create in a second.)
Then in Sheet2,
Cell A1, enter 1
Cell A2, enter 2
Cell A3, enter 3
Cell A4, enter 4
In Sheet3
Cells A1-A4 enter 100 through 400 respectively.
Then create a named range called "THIRD_SHEET" which refers to cells A1-A4 on Sheet3.
Try
In Sheet1:
Cell B2, enter the formula:
"=SUM(INDIRECT(B1))"
Copy that formula to Cell C2.
Results:
The INDIRECT uses the text in the column headings to point to a valid range reference. This is just illustration. You wouldn't likely use a mixture of named ranges and text ranges, and its not very clean to write out, "Sheet1!A1:A4" but you can use any of the standard formula to arrive at a textual reference.
Try
Change the formula in B2:
"=SUM(INDIRECT("Sheet"&COLUMN()))&"!A1:A4"))"
Now copy that to cell C2.
Results
Well, are the same. The SUM from cells A1:A4 is being returned from Sheets 2 and 3 respectively. This time, however, the column headers are not being used, and the range reference is being assembled in the INDIRECT call itself using the string join "&" operator and the COLUMN number.
Named ranges can be used in the same way. What's important to understand is that anything inside the INDIRECT parenthesis needs to first be resolved to a vaild TEXT range reference.
I hope that helps!