Remembering Commonly Used Workbooks

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 15, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

1

When you work with the same workbooks over and over again, you may want to come up with a quick way to get to those workbooks. This can be easily done in Excel; just follow these steps if you are using Excel 2007:

  1. Click the Office button.
  2. Hover the mouse pointer over the first three options you see (New, Open, or Save). Excel displays, at the right, a list of recent workbooks you've used.
  3. Click the push-pin icon that appears to the right of any workbooks you use regularly.

If you are using Excel 2010 or a later version, then the steps are slightly different:

  1. Display the File tab of the ribbon.
  2. If you are using Excel 2010, click Recent at the left side of the dialog box. If you are using Excel 2013 or a later version, click Open at the left side of the dialog box. In either case, Excel shows you a list of the most recent workbooks you've used.
  3. Scroll through the list of workbooks until you see the one you want to use regularly.
  4. Click the push-pin icon that appears to the right of the workbook in the list. (You may need to hover the mouse over the workbook name in order to see the push-pin icon.) Excel moves the workbook to the top of the list of files.
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for any other workbooks you want to "remember."

That's it. You can now access these commonly used workbooks at any time by simply displaying the recent workbook list where they will always be shown at the top of the list.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8489) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

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

Specifying a Font in WordArt

Do you use WordArt to place graphics in your Excel workbooks? If so, you may want to modify the font used by the program ...

Discover More

Understanding Fill Effects

Want to fill a drawing shape with more than just a color? Word allows you to use all sorts of fills, as described in this ...

Discover More

Selecting to the Bottom of a Column in a Macro

Need to select a range of cells in a column? This tip can help, as it shows how to select from a specific cell all the ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Saving All Open Workbooks

Wouldn't it be nice to have a single command that would save each of your open workbooks, all at once? It's easy to do ...

Discover More

Unresponsive Excel when Double-Clicking a Workbook

There are two ways you can load a workbook in Excel, and each approach should result in the workbook being loaded ...

Discover More

Making Changes in a Group of Workbooks

If you need to change the same data in a large number of workbooks, the task can be daunting. Here are some ideas (and ...

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.

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

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 five more than 9?

2020-08-16 10:12:09

John Mann

Another technique I have used is to create a desktop short-cut to some of my frequently used files. I also use the method in this tip.

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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.