Resetting Default Names for New Worksheets

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 13, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365


Peter developed a macro that deletes all the worksheets in a workbook except for one named "Index." This macro works fine. However, after running the macro, if he adds a new worksheet he expects it to be named "Sheet1" as the default, but it is actually named a later number, such as "Sheet3" or "Sheet4." Peter wonders what is required to reset the sheet numbering to the expected default.

The easiest way to reset the sheet numbering is to simply close the workbook and open it again. That, however, involves a manual step on your part. If you are adding the new worksheets via macro, then you probably don't want to manually close and re-open the workbook.

You could, if desired, create a simple macro to do the close and re-open process. This will work as long as the macro is stored in your Personal Macro Workbook and not in the workbook you are closing.

Sub Reopen()
    Dim wb As Excel.Workbook
    Dim sPath As String

    Set wb = ThisWorkbook
    sPath = wb.FullName

    Application.OnTime Now + TimeValue("00:00:01"), _
      Application.Workbooks.Open(sPth)
    wb.Close (True)
End Sub

The macro determines the name of the current workbook and then sets an OnTime event to open the workbook 1 second in the future. During that 1 second, however, the workbook is closed and saved, which allows it to be re-opened successfully.

You could, if desired, also choose to add your new worksheets via macro. The following short macro adds a worksheet and then immediately renames it to the desired name.

Sub AddWs()
  Worksheets.Add after:=Sheets(Sheets.Count)
  Sheets(Sheets.Count).Name = "Sheet" & Sheets.Count - 1
End Sub

You'll want to play with these solutions and find which one works best for your needs, particularly if you are wanting to integrate the solution with an already existing macro.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6103) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Automatically Capitalizing Day Names

Type the name of any of the seven days into your document, and Word automatically makes sure it is capitalized. This is ...

Discover More

Discovering Printer Drift

How accurate is your printer when it comes to placing information on the printed page? The simple technique described in ...

Discover More

Fast Spelling Corrections

Want to correct the spelling of a word that Word thinks is improperly spelled? A quick way to do it is to right-click the ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Selecting a Cell in the Current Row

Macros often need to select different cells in a worksheet. Here's how you can use macro commands to change which cell is ...

Discover More

Highlighting Pattern Violations

A common part of working with text strings in a worksheet is normalizing those strings so that they follow whatever rules ...

Discover More

Writing a Macro from Scratch

Creating macros can help extend what you can do in Excel. If you work with macros, you know that creating macros from ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is three less than 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.