Returning a Worksheet Name

Summary: Need to know the name of the current worksheet? You can use the CELL function as the basis for finding this information and putting it in a cell. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

Looking for a way to put the name of your worksheet directly into a cell? Excel makes this easy through the use of the CELL function. If you include the following in a cell, Excel returns the fully path of the workbook, along with the sheet name:

=CELL("filename")

For instance, if you entered this into a cell in the Sheet1 worksheet of the MyWB workbook, the information returned by Excel might be something like C:\My Documents\[MyWB.xls]Sheet1 (depending, of course, on the drive and directory in which the workbook is saved).

To return just the worksheet name from this value, you could use the following in your cell:

=MID(CELL("filename"),(FIND("]",CELL("filename"))+1),50)

This will work for any worksheet name up to 50 characters in length. (If you routinely use different lengths, simply change the value in the expression.) Continuing the earlier example, Excel would return Sheet1 as the result.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2146) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Step Up and Take Control! Subscribers to ExcelTips know just how valuable a resource it is. ExcelTips Premium provides twice the number of exceptional, easy-to-understand tips every week in an ad-free newsletter, as well as substantial discounts on ExcelTips archives and e-books.

Check out ExcelTips Premium today!