- Excel Files
- Workbook Sheets
- Workbook Windows
- Saving Files
- Opening Existing Files
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Workbook Sheets
Excel workbook files can include many individual sheets, which are like pages in the workbook. Each workbook, by default, includes three sheets named Sheet1 through Sheet3.
There are two kinds of sheets:
- A worksheet (Figure 1) is for entering information and performing calculations. You can also embed charts in a worksheet.
Figure 1 Here's a worksheet.
- A chart sheet (Figure 2) is for creating charts that aren't embedded in a worksheet.
Figure 2 Here's a chart sheet in the same workbook file.
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To switch from one sheet to another
Click the sheet tab at the bottom of the workbook window (Figure 3) for the sheet you want.
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Figure 3 Use sheet tabs to move from sheet to sheet in a workbook.
Or
Press 
or 
to scroll through all of the sheets in a workbook, one at a time.
TIPs
- If the sheet tab for the sheet you want is not displayed, use the tab scrolling buttons (Figure 4) to scroll through the sheet tabs.
Figure 4 Use the sheet tab scrolling buttons to view sheet tabs that are not displayed.
- To display more or fewer sheet tabs, drag the tab split box (Figure 5) to increase or decrease the size of the sheet tab area. As you change the size of the sheet tab area, you'll also change the size of the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the workbook window.
Figure 5 Drag the tab split box to change the size of the sheet tab area and display more or fewer sheet tabs.
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To select multiple sheets
- Click the sheet tab for the first sheet you want to select.
- Hold down
and click the sheet tab(s) for the other sheet(s) you want to select. The sheet tabs for each sheet you include in the selection turn white (Figure 6).
Figure 6 To select multiple sheets, hold down
while clicking each sheet tab.
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TIPs
- To select multiple adjacent sheets, click the sheet tab for the first sheet, then hold down
and click on the sheet tab for the last sheet you want to select. All sheet tabs in between also become selected. - Selecting multiple sheets makes it quick and easy to print, delete, edit, format, or perform other tasks with more than one sheet at a time.
To insert a worksheet
- Click the tab for the sheet you want to insert a new sheet before (Figure 7).
Figure 7 Begin by selecting the sheet you want the new sheet to be inserted before.
- Click the New sheet button on the right end of the row of sheet tabs (Figure 3), choose Home > Cells > Insert > Insert Sheet (Figure 8), or press
.
A new worksheet is inserted before the one you originally selected (Figure 9).
Figure 8 Choose Insert Sheet from the Insert menu.
Figure 9 An inserted worksheet.
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To insert a chart sheet
- Follow the instructions in Chapter 8 to insert a chart in a worksheet (Figure 10).
Figure 10 A chart inserted in a worksheet.
- Click the chart to select it.
- Click Chart Tools > Design > Location > Move Chart to display the Move Chart dialog (Figure 11).
Figure 11 The Move Chart dialog lets you insert the chart as a new sheet.
- Select the New sheet option and enter a name for the chart sheet.
- Click OK.
A new chart sheet with the name you provided is inserted in the workbook file (Figure 12).
Figure 12 An inserted chart sheet.
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To delete a sheet
- Click the sheet tab for the sheet you want to delete to select it.
- Choose Home > Cells > Delete > Delete Sheet (Figure 13).
Figure 13 The Delete menu.
- A warning dialog (Figure 14) appears. Click Delete to confirm that you want to delete the sheet.
Figure 14 When you delete a sheet, Excel warns you that the sheet may contain data.
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To rename a sheet
- Click the sheet tab for the sheet you want to rename to select it.
- Choose Home > Cells > Format > Rename Sheet (Figure 15) or double-click the sheet tab.
Figure 15 The Format menu.
- The sheet tab becomes highlighted (Figure 16). Enter a new name for the sheet (Figure 17) and press
to save it.
Figure 16 Double-click the sheet tab to select its name.
The sheet tab displays the new name (Figure 18).
Figure 17 Enter a new name for the sheet.
Figure 18 Press
to save the new name.
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To change a tab's color
- Click the sheet tab for which you want to change the color.
- Choose Home > Cells > Format > Tab Color to display a palette of theme and standard colors (Figure 19).
Figure 19 Use the Tab Color palette to specify a color for a sheet tab.
- Select the desired color.
The tab color changes as follows:
- When the tab is selected, it is white but shaded at the bottom with the tab color you specified (Figure 20).
Figure 20 When the tab is selected, it is white but shaded at the bottom with the tab color you specified.
- When the tab is not selected, it appears in the color you specified (Figure 21).
Figure 21 When a tab is not selected, its name appears in the color you specified.
- When the tab is selected, it is white but shaded at the bottom with the tab color you specified (Figure 20).
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To hide a sheet
- Select the sheet(s) you want to hide (Figure 18).
- Choose Home > Cells > Format > Hide & Unhide > Hide Sheet (Figure 22).
The sheet and its sheet tab disappear (Figure 23), just as if it had been deleted. But don't worry, the sheet still exists in the workbook file.
Figure 22 The Hide & Unhide submenu on the Format menu.
Figure 23 When you hide a sheet, its tab disappears.
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To unhide a sheet
- Choose Home > Cells > Format > Hide & Unhide > Unhide Sheet (Figure 22).
- In the Unhide dialog that appears (Figure 24), select the sheet you want to unhide.
Figure 24 The Unhide dialog lists all hidden sheets.
- Click OK. The sheet and its sheet tab reappear.
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To move or copy a sheet
- Select the tab(s) for the sheet(s) you want to move or copy.
- Choose Home > Cells > Format > Move or Copy Sheet (Figure 15). The Move or Copy dialog appears (Figure 25).
Figure 25 Use the Move or Copy dialog to pick a destination for the selected sheet(s) and tell Excel to copy them rather than move.
- Use the To book drop-down list (Figure 26) to choose the workbook you want to move or copy the sheet(s) to.
Figure 26 The To book drop-down list includes all of the currently open workbook files.
- Use the Before sheet list to choose the sheet you want the sheet(s) to be copied before.
- If you want to copy or duplicate the sheet rather than move it, turn on the Create a copy check box.
- Click OK.
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TIPs
- To move or copy sheets to another workbook, make sure that workbook is open (but not active) before you choose the Move or Copy Sheet command. Otherwise, it will not be listed in the To book drop-down list (Figure 26).
- If you choose (new book) from the To book drop-down list (Figure 26), Excel creates an empty workbook file and places the selected sheet(s) into it.
- You can use the Move or Copy Sheet command to change the order of sheets in a workbook. Just make sure the current workbook is selected in the To book drop-down list (Figure 26). Then select the appropriate sheet from the Before sheet scrolling list or select (move to end).
- You can also move or copy a sheet by dragging. To move the sheet, drag the sheet tab to the new position (Figure 27). To copy the sheet, hold down while dragging the sheet tab (Figure 28).
Figure 27 You can also drag a sheet tab to move it …
Figure 28 ... or hold down
while dragging a sheet tab to copy it.
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