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: Saving All Open Workbooks.

Saving All Open Workbooks

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 7, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


3

If you work with lots of workbooks open at the same time, you know that it can be a pain to go through and save each of the open workbooks, in turn. Wouldn't it be great to have a single command that allowed you to save all the open workbooks, without the need to do it manually?

Unfortunately, there isn't such a command in the versions of Excel that use the ribbon interface, but you can create one using a macro. The following is a good example of one you could use:

Sub SaveAll()
    Dim Wkb As Workbook
    For Each Wkb In Workbooks
        If Not Wkb.ReadOnly And Windows(Wkb.Name).Visible Then
            Wkb.Save
        End If
    Next
End Sub

Save the macro in your Personal workbook, assign it to the Quick Access Toolbar or a shortcut key, and you can call it up as often as you like. It saves all the workbooks that are open, except those that are read-only or hidden.

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 (11079) 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: Saving All Open Workbooks.

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

Using the COLUMN Function

Need to know the column number for use in a formula? The worksheet function you want is the COLUMN function, described in ...

Discover More

Viewing Document Statistics

As you develop a document, Word keeps track of certain statistics about the document itself. Here is how you can review ...

Discover More

Inserting a Cross-Reference to the Last Style on a Page

It is often helpful to reference a specific heading in the header or footer of a page and have that reference change on ...

Discover More

Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Sudden Increases in Workbook File Size

Workbooks can get rather large rather quickly. If you think your workbook has gotten too big too fast, here are some ...

Discover More

Needing to Save a Workbook Twice

If you save a workbook and then immediately close the workbook, Excel may ask you to save again. This tip looks at ...

Discover More

Turning Off Sharing

All good things must come to an end at some point. When you are done sharing your workbook with others, this is how you ...

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 two more than 7?

2021-04-16 03:14:23

Alan Elston

Hello Anna …
.. You can use the Workbook.SaveAs-Method …
…. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office/vba/api/excel.workbook.saveas
…. In place of the Workbook.Save-Method (…
…. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office/vba/api/excel.workbook.save ... )
….
… In that method, the first argument, FileName:= , would be the full path and file name of your file …

… So instead of …
… Wkb.Save …
… you would do like
… Wkb.SaveAs Filename:="C:\Users\Elston\Desktop" & "\" & Wkb.Name …

… Obviously you will need to change that first path bit to suit the location you want to save the file in. In that example, the file would be saved on my desktop


…. Alan Elston


2021-04-15 18:17:22

Anna

Thanks for the tip! However, how can you save all the opened workbooks to a specific location?


2020-03-08 21:01:21

Walter

I had multiple workbooks open in Excel 2010 and the Sub SaveAll() didn't work for me.

The following simple macro does the trick for me.
It prompts to save if changes were made in a workbook and also prompts with warning messages if need be.

Sub Close_all_Workbooks()
Workbooks.Close
End Sub

it also worked in Excel 2019, where the workbooks are open and multiple instances of Excel.

It's fairly simple and you may need to embellish it to do all of the things you would like.


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.