Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Changing the Default Drive.

Changing the Default Drive

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 2, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Oftentimes it is helpful, in a macro, to specify which drive is considered the default drive. In other words, it may be helpful to indicate the drive on which all file operations should occur when you don't explicitly indicate a drive in a path name. To indicate the default drive to be used in a macro, you use the ChDrive statement, as follows:

ChDrive "E"

This particular statement changes the current drive to E:. You can change to a different drive by simply changing the drive letter enclosed within the quote marks.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9147) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Changing the Default Drive.

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

Stopping DATE Fields from Updating when Opening a Document

A normal DATE field shows the current date, so it is constantly changing. This can cause problems in a document where you ...

Discover More

Rounding To the Nearest Even Integer

Do you need your numbers to be rounded to an even integer value? How you accomplish the task depends on the nature of the ...

Discover More

Specifying Your Target Monitor

When you create a worksheet that is destined for viewing on the Web, you will want to specify the monitor resolution you ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Pulling First Letters from Parenthetical Text

When working with text in Excel, you can slice and dice it in many ways. This tip shows how to pull first letters from ...

Discover More

Copying Named Ranges

Named ranges are a great tool to use in developing formula-heavy workbooks. You may want, at some point, to copy your ...

Discover More

Calling a Macro from the Workbook_Open Event

You can run a Personal.xlsb macro from within your Workbook_Open code, but you may get an error if you don't make sure ...

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 0 + 6?

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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.