Home > Structure > Workbook > Workbook Tips Excel Workbook TipsTurn off Narrator voice, stop personal information warning, copy existing Microsoft Excel workbooks, change Save As settings, and more Excel workbook tips |
In some Excel workbooks, when you try to save the file, you'll see a warning message:
Here's a screen shot of the error message -- I put the text onto 2 lines, so it's easier to read.
If you click OK in that warning message, another message appears: "Document not saved."
If you're tired of seeing that message, follow these steps to turn it off, in the active workbook.
NOTE: No other workbooks will be affected by the change to this setting.
Recently, when saved new Excel files, or used the Save As command, the Personal location was always selected by default: Personal > OneDrive - Personal .
That added an extra step to the saving process, because I had to remember to click the "This PC" location every time!
This setting must have changed after an Office update, and I finally figured out how to make "This PC" the default location again.
To change the setting for your workbooks, follow these steps:
While working in Excel, you can turn on the Windows Narrator, intentionally or accidentally. The Narrator will read the contents of your worksheet cells, when you select them.
Here is the shortcut key combination to turn the Windows Narrator on or off:
Instead of creating an Excel file from scratch, you can save time by basing the new workbook on an existing file. Open the old file, then use the Save As command, to create a copy.
However, it is easy to forget that step, and you end up making unwanted changes to the original file. To be safe, use one of the tips in this video, to open a copy of the original spreadsheet, and keep it safe from changes.
Watch this video to see the steps for creating a copy of the original file, without using the Save As command.
With just a few clicks, you can create a new workbook, from an existing worksheet.
To move or copy worksheet(s) to a new workbook:
It can be difficult to find a specific sheet, if an Excel file has many worksheets. This video shows how to use navigation arrows, worksheet list, coloured tabs, and spacer tabs, to make it easier to find a specific sheet. The written instructions for spacer tabs are below the video.
Thanks to AlexJ for sending this Spacer Tab tip. See more of his work on the AlexJ Sample Files page.
In a large workbook, you can colour the sheet tabs, to identify the sections, such as data entry and reports.
To add visual separation between the coloured sheet groups, add a spacer tab:
NOTE: If inserting additional spacer sheets, use an additional space character for each new spacer sheet, because sheet names cannot be duplicated.
In the sections below, there are a few Excel macros to help you save time when setting up workbook, or while working in your existing Excel files.
--1) Quick Workbook Backup Copy Macro
--2) Automatically Add New Sheet in Workbook
--3) Create Annual Workbooks for Each Month
Here's an Excel workbook backup macro that I use almost every day.
Copy this macro code, and paste it into a regular code module in a workbook that's always open, when you use Excel, such as your Personal Macro Workbook.
The code below will save a copy of the active workbook, in the same folder. The copy has the same file name and extension, with the date and time added to the end of the name.
For example: MyFileName_20190627_0905.xlsx
Sub QuickBU_SameFolder() Dim wb As Workbook Dim strFile As String Dim strName As String Dim lExt As Long Dim strDir As String Dim strExt As String Dim lPer As Long Dim strStamp As String Set wb = ActiveWorkbook strName = wb.Name strDir = wb.Path & "\" strStamp = Format(Now, "_yyyymmdd_HhMm") lPer = InStr(1, UCase(Right(strName, 5)), ".") Select Case lPer Case 1: lExt = 5 Case 2: lExt = 4 Case Else: lExt = 0 End Select If lExt = 0 Then MsgBox "Please save the file and then try again." GoTo exitHandler End If strExt = Right(strName, lExt) strFile = Left(strName, Len(strName) - lExt) ActiveWorkbook.SaveCopyAs _ strDir & strFile & strStamp & strExt MsgBox "The file was saved as " _ & vbCrLf _ & strFile & strStamp & strExt _ & vbCrLf _ & vbCrLf _ & "in the current folder:" _ & vbCrLf _ & strDir exitHandler: Set wb = Nothing Exit Sub End Sub
In this video, see how a macro automatically adds a new worksheet with the month name, when an Excel file opens at the start of the month.
There are written steps on the Create Workbooks and Worksheets page, and you can download the sample file at the end of the page.
In the download section below, there is a sample Excel file that automatically creates monthly workbooks, with daily sheets in each file, created by Roger Govier.
There are written steps on the Create Workbooks and Worksheets page, and you can download the sample file at the end of the page.
Here are a few of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Excel workbooks.
A: Only one sheet can be active at any given time. You can select two or more sheets, which is called grouping. However, only one of those sheets will be active. The active sheet's tab has bold font, and that sheet's contents are visible in the Excel window.
A: To close all open windows in Excel 2013 and later versions, press the Shift key, and click the X at the top right of one of the Excel windows. You will be prompted to save any unsaved files, and then all the windows will close.
A: To stop files automatically opening, you can remove a folder name in the Excel options:
Last updated: November 13, 2023 11:19 AM