How to Switch Between Sheets in Excel? 6 Useful Methods
(Note: This guide on how to switch between sheets in Excel is suitable for all Excel versions including Office 365)
Every data you create, download, or enter in Excel gets stored in an Excel file. This Excel file is called an Excel workbook. Each workbook can have numerous worksheets.
The main purpose of having multiple worksheets is to store different types of data in the same workbook.
When you are working in Excel, there will be a need for you to switch between sheets in Excel.
In this article, I will tell you how to switch between sheets in Excel in 6 easy ways.
You’ll Learn:
Click below to watch the Video on “How to Switch Between Sheets in Excel?”
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What Is the Purpose of Worksheets in Excel?
The main purpose of worksheets is to store data that are not too similar to be in the same sheet, but also not too different to be in a different workbook.
Maintaining your data using worksheets has some advantages of its own.
- When you have to share the data within or outside your organization, you don’t have to share them in multiple workbooks. Instead, you can just share a single workbook that consists of all the data.
- Having multiple worksheets makes it easier to search, locate, and retrieve data. It also facilitates easy and simple data handling.
- It is easier to link data between worksheets. For example, one sheet can have the data derived from another worksheet. They can also be linked in a way that when one value changes, the other automatically changes.
How to Switch Between Sheets in Excel?
By Clicking and Changing the Sheets
This is one of the most well-known and widely used methods to change worksheets in Excel.
When you open an Excel workbook, by default, the first sheet pops up. If you have multiple worksheets and want to switch between them, you can then click on the worksheet of your choice to change them.
- To change the worksheet, place your mouse pointer in the worksheet tab which lies above the status bar.
- Once you place your pointer, the particular sheet will appear bold.
- Once you click on it, the current worksheet will be opened. This is known as the Active sheet.
- If you have more sheets, some sheets might be hidden. To show the hidden sheets, click on the arrow next to the first displayed sheet and then select the required sheet.
Although this is a relatively easy method to change the worksheet, it can be a little confusing when there are a lot of worksheets and when some of them are hidden. And also, clicking back and forth between sheets can be a little exasperating.
In such cases, there are a variety of other methods to switch between worksheets in Excel.
Using PageUp and PageDown Keys
If you are a person who uses a keyboard for efficient functioning, then there is a keyboard shortcut to switch between sheets in Excel easily.
- If you want to move to the next worksheet (i.e. to your right) in the Excel workbook, hold the Ctrl key and press the PageDown key. To keep moving right, press the PageDown key until you reach your desired sheet.
- To move to the previous worksheet (i.e. to your left), hold the Ctrl key and press the PageUp key on the keyboard.
Once you reach the first sheet, you cannot move left any further. And, when you reach the last sheet, you cannot move right. Excel does not allow options to circle between worksheets.
Note: Suppose you are using the latest versions of keyboards, you might not have the PageUp and PageDown as single keys. Instead, you’ll have to hold the Function key and Ctrl key, and then press the PageUp or PageDown key to switch between sheets.
Using the Go To Option
This is another way to switch between sheets in Excel. Using the Go To option, you can move to any particular cell in any sheet.
- To switch between sheets using the Go To option, first, navigate to Home. Under the Editing section, click on the dropdown from Find&Select and select Go To.
- You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+G to open the Go To dialog box.
- This opens the Go To dialog box.
- In the Reference text box, enter the sheet name, followed by a separator (!) and the cell number. In this case, we want to move to cell B4 in sheet 6, so enter Sheet!B4 in the Reference text box. In the Go To dialog box, you can also see the recently viewed sheets you have moved to.
Note: The sheet name, separator, and cell number are all mandatory fields and cannot be skipped.
- Once you press OK, Excel takes you to the corresponding sheet and highlights that particular cell.
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Using the Activate Sheet Option
Another easy way to move between sheets in Excel or move to a specific sheet is by using the Activate Sheet option.
- To switch between sheets using the Activate Sheet option, hover your mouse pointer over the arrows used to navigate between visible sheets. This can be found in the bottom left corner of the Excel window above the status bar.
- You can see a pop-up notification.
- Right-click in between the arrows. This opens the Activate Sheets dialog box.
- Select the sheet you want to move and click OK or double-click on the sheet you want to move. You can also use the arrow keys to navigate between sheets and press Enter to move to the particular sheet.
Using NameBox
Another pretty simple way to move between sheets is by using the name box in the Excel window. Switching sheets using the name box works on the same principle as the Go To method.
The Name Box is a small textbox-like pane that displays the cell name when you click on it. This is located to the left of the formula bar.
- To switch between sheets using the name box, first, click on the name box.
- Enter the sheet name, separator, and cell number in the Name Box. In this case, we want to move to cell A7 in sheet 6. So, enter sheet6!a7 in the name box and press Enter.
- This immediately switches the sheet and highlights the specified cell.
One advantage of this method is that when you use the name box to switch sheets, it shows you a history of sheets you shifted to, thereby making it easy to track data.
Using Hyperlink Option
Hyperlinking is another way to switch to a different worksheet with just the click of a button. This is helpful when you have a main reference sheet to switch to.
- To add a hyperlink to a particular worksheet, first, select a cell.
- Navigate to Insert. Under the Link section, click on the Link button. You can also right-click on the cell and click on Link.
- This opens the Insert Hyperlink dialog box.
- Click on the Place in this Document section and select the sheet you want to move to. In this example, we want to move from sheet 6 to sheet 8. So, click on the sheet you want to move to and click OK.
- If you want to have a different anchor rather than the default one, change the text in the Text to display text box.
- This inserts the anchor text containing the hyperlink in the specified cell.
Now, when you click on the anchor text, Excel takes you to the specified worksheet.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How to switch between sheets in Excel using a keyboard shortcut?
Using the PageUp and PageDown keys is one of the most effective and easy ways to move between sheets in Excel. Hold the Ctrl key and press the PageUp button to move the sheet to the right, or the PageDown button to move the sheet to the left.
How to move to a specific worksheet in Excel?
Using the Go To method, Activate sheet method, and the Name Box method are simple and effective ways to jump to specific worksheets in Excel. Using these methods, you can select any specific sheet name and move to them.
Why can’t I see the hidden sheets in Excel?
When the number of worksheets increases, the first or last worksheets get hidden. Using the arrow keys next to the sheet, you can move between the visible worksheets in Excel.
Closing Thoughts
In this article, we saw how to switch between sheets in Excel using 6 easy ways. When there are multiple worksheets in Excel, moving between them using the method that suits you the best helps increase the efficiency of your work.
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Simon Calder
Chris “Simon” Calder was working as a Project Manager in IT for one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious cultural institutions, LACMA.He taught himself to use Microsoft Project from a giant textbook and hated every moment of it. Online learning was in its infancy then, but he spotted an opportunity and made an online MS Project course - the rest, as they say, is history!
