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Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
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When you choose to hide worksheets in a workbook, Excel allows you to hide multiple sheets with one action: all you need to do is select the sheets before actually doing the hiding. Unhiding worksheets is a different story, however. Excel only allows you to unhide one at a time. If you have many worksheets you want to unhide, this can be very tedious.
The only way around this is to use a macro to unhide the worksheets. The following VBA macro will unhide all the worksheets in the current workbook:
Sub UnhideAllSheets()
Dim wsSheet As Worksheet
For Each wsSheet In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
wsSheet.Visible = xlSheetVisible
Next wsSheet
End Sub
If you would rather not unhide all the worksheets at once, you can cause the macro to ask about each hidden worksheet and then unhide each that you agree to unhide. The following macro will handle this task:
Sub UnhideSomeSheets()
Dim sSheetName As String
Dim sMessage As String
Dim Msgres As VbMsgBoxResult
For Each wsSheet In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
If wsSheet.Visible = xlSheetHidden Then
sSheetName = wsSheet.Name
sMessage = "Unhide the following sheet?" _
& vbNewLine & sSheetName
Msgres = MsgBox(sMessage, vbYesNo)
If Msgres = vbYes Then wsSheet.Visible = xlSheetVisible
End If
Next wsSheet
End Sub
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2603) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 2000 2002 2003
You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Unhiding Multiple Worksheets.
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More Power! For some people, the prospect of creating macros can be scary. Those who conquer their fears, however, find they become much more confident and productive once they learn how to make Excel do exactly what they want. ExcelTips: The Macros is an invaluable source for learning Excel macros. You are introduced to the topic in bite-sized chunks, pulled from past issues of ExcelTips. Learn at your own pace, exactly the way you want. Check out ExcelTips: The Macros today!