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: Default Worksheet when Opening.

Default Worksheet when Opening

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 31, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


When you open a workbook, Excel normally displays the worksheet last displayed when the workbook was last saved. You may want a specific worksheet to always be displayed when the workbook is opened, regardless of the worksheet displayed when the workbook was last saved.

You can control which worksheet is displayed by using this macro:

Private Sub Workbook_Open()
    Worksheets("StartSheet").Activate
End Sub

This macro will always display a worksheet named StartSheet. You will obviously need to change the worksheet name to something different; it should exactly match the name of the desired worksheet.

For this macro to work properly, it has to be associated with the workbook object. Follow these steps:

  1. Make sure you have only a single Excel workbook open. While this isn't exactly mandatory, it will make creating the macro a bit easier.
  2. Press Alt+F11 to display the VBA Editor.
  3. In the Project Explorer window you will see a list of the open workbooks and templates. If the Project Explorer is not visible on your screen, choose Project Explorer from the View menu.
  4. Locate your current workbook in the Project Explorer. It will be named something like VBAProject (MyWorkbook), where "MyWorkbook" is the name of the actual workbook.
  5. If there is a plus sign to the left of the current workbook in the Project Explorer, click on it. You should see a list of worksheets appear underneath the workbook.
  6. If you don't see a list of worksheets, but instead see a list of folders with plus signs to their left, click on the plus sign to the left of Microsoft Excel Objects. Now you should see the worksheets.
  7. At the bottom of the list of worksheets is the ThisWorkbook object. Double-click on it. A code window is opened.
  8. In the code window, paste or create the macro shown above. Make sure you name it exactly as shown.
  9. Close the VBA Editor.
  10. Save your workbook.

Now, whenever you open the workbook, the specified worksheet will be displayed.

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 (11146) 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: Default Worksheet when Opening.

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 a Standard Format in a Suggested File Name

Many companies (and some individuals) use specific formats for naming their documents. If you want Word to recognize your ...

Discover More

Taking a Picture

Excel allows you to capture portions of your worksheet as a picture that you can then use in a variety of other ways. ...

Discover More

Protecting Tracked Changes

Track Changes is a great tool for editors and collaborators to use when creating documents. An author, seeking changes ...

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)

Running a Macro while in Edit Mode

Excel doesn't allow you to run a macro while editing the contents of a cell. The only solution is to get out of Edit ...

Discover More

Trimming Spaces from Strings

Need to get rid of extraneous spaces before or after the text in a string? VBA provides three different functions you can ...

Discover More

Macro for Month Name

Need to know how to generate a full month name based on a date? It's easy to do, as discussed in this tip.

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 5 - 3?

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.