Welcome toExcel.Tips.Net
Tips.Net Home
ExcelTips Home
Ask an Excel Question
Make a Comment
ExcelTips FAQ
ExcelTips Premium
Learn Access Now
Free Printable Forms
Beauty Tips
Car Tips
Cleaning Tips
College Tips
Cooking Tips
Excel2007 Tips
ExcelTips
Family Tips
Gardening Tips
Health Tips
Home Tips
Legal Tips
Money Tips
Organizing Tips
Pest Tips
Pet Tips
Wedding Tips
Word2007 Tips
WordTips
Advertise on the
ExcelTips Site
Adding a Little Animation to Your Life
Converting a Range of URLs to Hyperlinks
Making the Formula Bar Persistent
If you have a need to find out the directory in which your workbook is saved, you may be tempted to use a macro to figure out the answer. While this is a valid approach (and relatively easy), some people are intimidated by macros or don't want to use them within the workbooks. The following worksheet formula will return the directory in which the workbook is stored:
=LEFT(CELL("Filename",$A$1),FIND("[",CELL("Filename",$A$1))-1)
If you use this formula in a workbook that is brand new—one that has yet to be saved—then it will return a #VALUE! error. This happens because the filename has not yet been set, and the LEFT function cannot return a portion of something that is not there. To avoid the error, simply encase the formula in an IF function, as follows:
=IF(CELL("Filename",$A$1)>"",LEFT(CELL("Filename",$A$1),
FIND("[",CELL("Filename",$A$1))-1),"")
In this variation the CELL function is used to determine if the filename has been set. If it has, then the directory name is extracted and returned. If not, then an empty string is returned.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2571) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 2000 2002 2003 2007
Got the Time? Understanding the ins and outs of working with times and dates can be confusing. Remove the confusion--ExcelTips: Times and Dates is an invaluable resource for learning how best to work with times and dates.