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: Telling which Worksheets are Selected.

Telling which Worksheets are Selected

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 26, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365

When writing a macro that does some type of processing on different worksheets, you may need to figure out which worksheets were selected by a user before the macro was run. The way you do this is to use the SelectedSheets property. (Well, it is technically a property, but it acts in many ways like a collection.) The following simple macro displays the names of each worksheet that is currently selected:

Sub ShowSheets()
    Dim aSheet As Variant

    For Each aSheet In ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets
        MsgBox aSheet.Name
    Next aSheet
End Sub

Once you understand how to get the worksheet names, they can be put into an array or used in any other way deemed necessary.

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 (12142) 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: Telling which Worksheets are Selected.

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

Sending an E-mail when a Due Date is Reached

Wouldn't it be great if Excel could automatically e-mail you when a due date is reached? It can, if you are using Outlook ...

Discover More

Concatenating Names with Delimiters

Need to come up with a formula for combining lots of text from various cells? Here's a full discussion on how you can do ...

Discover More

Looking Backward through a Data Table

Sometimes you need to look backward, through the information above your formula, to find the data you need. This can be ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Getting Rid of Alphabetic Characters

When you need to get rid of characters in the middle of a cell value, the best way to do it is through the use of macros. ...

Discover More

Determining a Format's Currency Symbol

Excel allows you to format numeric values in many different ways, including as currency. If you want to determine, in a ...

Discover More

Finding Columns of a Certain Width

If you need to find out how many columns are set to be a specific width, you'll need a macro to help determine the info. ...

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 three less than 9?

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.