Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 31, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365
Vicki has made quite a few changes to the configuration options in Excel, visible in the various tabs of the Excel Options dialog box. She wonders if there is a way to save these settings, as she's modified them, so that they can be loaded into another system or backed up.
There is no single place that Excel configuration settings are stored, so the answer to this question is not as simple as one might hope. Some of the settings are stored in the XLB file maintained by the system. Where this file is stored depends on the version of Excel you are using and the way your system is set up. Here, for instance, is where it may be stored on a system:
c:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel
You can easily—within Windows—do a search for files ending in XLB and back them up.
Other configuration options are stored with individual workbooks, and still others are modified on-the-fly based on the first workbook you open within Excel. Backing up workbooks is easy, but you'll need to do some figuring out to see which ones you want to save based solely on the configuration settings they may affect.
Of course, you may be able to locate third-party add-ons for Excel that you can use to gather and save all of the configuration settings; a bit of time spent with your favorite search engine may turn up some good candidates.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (13414) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365.
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2022-04-02 10:15:35
J. Woolley
For the QAT and Ribbon, see File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Import/Export.
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