Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, 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: Renaming a Workbook.

Renaming a Workbook

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 26, 2025)

There is no intrinsic command within Excel that allows you to rename workbooks or files, as there is in some other programs. It is true that you can simply save a workbook out under a new name, but that results in two files on your drive instead of one. You can use the following steps to rename a workbook quickly and easily, all within Excel:

  1. Make sure the workbook you want to rename is not loaded into Excel. (Close it if it is loaded.)
  2. Press Ctrl+O to display the Open dialog box. (In Excel 2013 you'll need to not only press Ctrl+O, but then click Computer and then Browse. In Excel 2016 or a later version click This PC and then Browse after you click Ctrl+O). You can also press Ctrl+F12 to display the Open dialog box.
  3. In the list of files contained in the dialog box, right-click on the one you want to rename. This displays a Context menu for the workbook.
  4. Choose Rename from the Context menu. The workbook name is highlighted, and you have the opportunity to change the name.
  5. Once the document name is changed, press Enter.
  6. Close the Open dialog box by pressing Esc or clicking on Cancel.

Understand that if you rename a workbook, that doesn't change any references that may exist to the old workbook. That means that the old workbook name will still appear in the MRU list, and any links to the old workbook will no longer work because they still reference the old workbook name.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11726) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Renaming a Workbook.

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. ...

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