Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: Retrieving Worksheet Names.

Retrieving Worksheet Names

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 11, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365


1

If you have a very large number of worksheets in a workbook, you might want to retrieve the names of those worksheets and put then on their own worksheet. For instance, you may want them in one place so you can use them in a table of contents or in some other fashion. The following macro, GetSheets, will quickly retrieve the names of the worksheets in the current workbook and put them in the current workbook, beginning at whatever cell is currently selected.

Sub GetSheets()
    Dim w As Worksheet
    Dim iRow As Integer
    Dim iCol As Integer

    iRow = Selection.Row
    iCol = Selection.Column
    For Each w in Worksheets
        Cells(iRow, iCol) = w.Name
        iRow = iRow + 1
    Next w
End Sub

If you want to make an actual table of contents where the sheet names are actually hyperlinks to the worksheets, you could modify the macro in the following manner:

Sub MakeTOC()
    Dim w As Worksheet
    Dim iRow As Integer
    Dim iCol As Integer
    Dim sTemp As String

    iRow = Selection.Row
    iCol = Selection.Column
    For Each w in Worksheets
        Cells(iRow, iCol) = w.Name
        sTemp = "'" & w.Name & "'!A1"
        ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=Cells(iRow, iCol), _
          Address:="", SubAddress:=sTemp, TextToDisplay:=w.Name
        iRow = iRow + 1
    Next w
End Sub

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 (11679) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Retrieving Worksheet Names.

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

Adding a Line Before a Table

Easily add a blank line before your already inserted table.

Discover More

Changing Axis Tick Marks

Create a chart in Excel, and you may find that the tick marks shown on the axes in the chart aren't to your liking. It is ...

Discover More

Cleaning Old Cookie Sheets

Sometimes baked-on stains can be very stubborn to remove from metal cookware. Here are some ideas that may help get rid ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Colors and Fonts for Worksheet Tabs

Changing the color used on a worksheet tab is easy. Just follow the three steps in this tip.

Discover More

Properties for Worksheets

Excel keeps a full set of properties related to workbooks. When it comes to worksheets, however, there is very little ...

Discover More

Selecting All Visible Worksheets in a Macro

Do you need your macro to select all the visible worksheets (and just the visible ones)? It's not as easy as it sounds, ...

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 seven less than 8?

2023-03-11 09:57:33

J. Woolley

For more on this subject, see my comment dated 2022-06-22 here: https://excelribbon.tips.net/T007094_Jumping_to_a_Specific_Worksheet.html


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.