Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 31, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
When you open a workbook, Excel normally displays the worksheet last displayed when the workbook was last saved. You may want a specific worksheet to always be displayed when the workbook is opened, regardless of the worksheet displayed when the workbook was last saved.
You can control which worksheet is displayed by using this macro:
Private Sub Workbook_Open() Worksheets("StartSheet").Activate End Sub
This macro will always display a worksheet named StartSheet. You will obviously need to change the worksheet name to something different; it should exactly match the name of the desired worksheet.
For this macro to work properly, it has to be associated with the workbook object. Follow these steps:
Now, whenever you open the workbook, the specified worksheet will be displayed.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2014) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Default Worksheet when Opening.
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