Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Creating a Workbook Clone.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 19, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365
There may be times when you want to make a copy of a workbook, without affecting the original. Excel provides an easy way to do this. Simply follow these steps:
The workbook that is opened uses the same file name, but Excel attaches some sort of phrase to the beginning of the file name, as a prefix. For instance, you might see the file name prefixed with "Copy of" or "Copy (1)." Thus, if the original workbook you selected in step 2 is named "Budget.xlsx," what Excel creates is a workbook named "Copy of Budget.xlsx" or "Copy (1)Budget.xlsx." If you want to rename the file, you will need to either use the Save As command, or rename the workbook after closing it.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8036) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Creating a Workbook Clone.
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2022-03-10 03:34:26
ahmetgns
Again me! In Word, File>Open>Recent list>right click>Open as copy opens a copy but name the document as Document1, not appending 1 the original name. I know this is Excel forum but any solution to this problem is welcome.
2022-02-18 03:16:00
ahmetgns
If right click on a file in the File>Open>Recent list and select "Open as copy" (must be like this in English version) it opens and adds "1" (one) to the file name but does not save a copy on disk, until you click on Save (or Save as...) and select a directory. This is good.
But the way you are describing above saves a copy on disk with a "Copy of " prefix. This is just wrong. Or simply I don't like it since I open as copy just to check some value in the file and close it, without preventing other colleagues on the network who may want to edit file while I am viewing it. Since this file is on a network directory, if I forget to delete the copy after opening it as copy and then closing, it may remain there for long time and confuse my colleagues as which file is being updated and up-to-date.
The first way is good but the file must be in the Recent section to use that way, which may not always be the case.
2021-06-19 09:01:23
Workbook clone: using Windows Explorer, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V takes about one second to create the clone.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here:
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