Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, 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: Merging Many Workbooks.

Merging Many Workbooks

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 20, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021


1

Joy ran into a problem merging quite a few workbooks together. The majority of the workbooks—about 200 of them, all in a single folder—each contain a single worksheet, but some contain more. The worksheets forming each of these workbooks needs to be added to a single workbook.

The easiest way to do merges of this magnitude—particularly if you have to do it often—is with a macro. The following macro displays a dialog box asking you to select the files to merge. (You can select multiple workbooks by holding down the Ctrl key as you click each one.) It loops thru the list you select, opening each one and moving all its worksheets to the end of the workbook with the code.

Sub CombineWorkbooks()
    Dim FilesToOpen
    Dim x As Integer

    On Error GoTo ErrHandler
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False

    FilesToOpen = Application.GetOpenFilename _
      (FileFilter:="Microsoft Excel Files (*.xls?), *.xls?", _
      MultiSelect:=True, Title:="Files to Merge")

    If TypeName(FilesToOpen) = "Boolean" Then
        MsgBox "No Files were selected"
        GoTo ExitHandler
    End If

    x = 1
    While x <= UBound(FilesToOpen)
        Workbooks.Open FileName:=FilesToOpen(x)
        Sheets().Move After:=ThisWorkbook.Sheets _
          (ThisWorkbook.Sheets.Count)
        x = x + 1
    Wend

ExitHandler:
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
    Exit Sub

ErrHandler:
    MsgBox Err.Description
    Resume ExitHandler
End Sub

In the process of adding the worksheets to the end of the workbook, Excel will automatically append a (2), (3), etc. when duplicates worksheet names are detected. Any formulas in the book referring to other sheets will also be updated to reflect the new names.

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 (12652) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Merging Many 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

Differences between SEQ and LISTNUM Fields

Word provides several different fields you can use for custom numbering in a document. Two of the most commonly used are ...

Discover More

Font Substitution Problems

When your document uses fonts that are not available on your computer system, Word substitutes other fonts that it feels ...

Discover More

Copying Worksheets in a Macro

Copying worksheets (one or many) is easy to do manually. What is not well known is that it is even easy to make the ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Incorrect In-Use Message

If you try to open a workbook that someone else has open, Excel lets you know of the conflict. What if Excel tells you, ...

Discover More

Seeing All Open Workbook Names

Ever want to see a list of all the workbooks that are open? If you open more than nine, Excel only displays the first ...

Discover More

Saving a Workbook in a Macro

Does your macro need to make sure that the workbook being processed is saved to disk? You can add the saving capability ...

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 three less than 3?

2024-07-21 14:59:42

J. Woolley

The Tip's macro references ThisWorkbook, which is the location of the macro; that will be a problem if the macro is relocated to Personal.xlsb or an add-in. Here is a recommended replacement for the macro's While loop:

    Dim AWB As Workbook
    Set AWB = ActiveWorkbook
    For x = LBound(FilesToOpen) To UBound(FilesToOpen)
        Workbooks.Open(FilesToOpen(x)).Sheets.Move _
            After:=AWB.Sheets(AWB.Sheets.Count)
    Next x

Notice the macro opens workbooks but doesn't close them. Apparently they close automatically after all their sheets are moved, but they retain their sheets as if the sheets were only copied. Here is another version that is more specific:

    Dim AWB As Workbook
    Set AWB = ActiveWorkbook
    For x = LBound(FilesToOpen) To UBound(FilesToOpen)
        With Workbooks.Open(FilesToOpen(x))
            .Sheets.Copy After:=AWB.Sheets(AWB.Sheets.Count)
            .Close SaveChanges:=False
        End With
    Next x


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.