Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Sheets for Months.

Sheets for Months

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 30, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


When you are starting a new workbook, it is very common to name each worksheet after a different month of the year. If you do this quite a bit, you know it can be tiresome to rename each worksheet, in turn, to exactly what you need.

The following macro was developed to help in these situations. It checks the names of the worksheets in your workbook, renaming them to the months of the year if they begin with the letters "Sheet". If there are not enough sheets in the workbook, it adds sheets, as necessary, for each month of the year.

Sub DoMonths()
    Dim J As Integer
    Dim K As Integer
    Dim sMo(12) As String

    sMo(1) = "January"
    sMo(2) = "February"
    sMo(3) = "March"
    sMo(4) = "April"
    sMo(5) = "May"
    sMo(6) = "June"
    sMo(7) = "July"
    sMo(8) = "August"
    sMo(9) = "September"
    sMo(10) = "October"
    sMo(11) = "November"
    sMo(12) = "December"

    For J = 1 To 12
        If J <= Sheets.Count Then
            If Left(Sheets(J).Name, 5) = "Sheet" Then
                Sheets(J).Name = sMo(J)
            Else
                Sheets.Add.Move after:=Sheets(Sheets.Count)
                ActiveSheet.Name = sMo(J)
            End If
        Else
            Sheets.Add.Move after:=Sheets(Sheets.Count)
            ActiveSheet.Name = sMo(J)
        End If
    Next J

    For J = 1 To 12
        If Sheets(J).Name <> sMo(J) Then
            For K = J + 1 To Sheets.Count
                If Sheets(K).Name = sMo(J) Then
                    Sheets(K).Move Before:=Sheets(J)
                End If
            Next K
        End If
    Next J

    Sheets(1).Activate
End Sub

The last step in the macro is that it places the worksheets in proper order, for the months 1 through 12. The result is that if you have any other worksheets left in the workbook (in other words, you had some that did not begin with the letters "Sheet", then those worksheets end up at the end of the workbook, after the 12 months.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2017) 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: Sheets for Months.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Converting PDF to Word Documents

One way that documents are commonly shared with others is in the form of a PDF file. Getting information from a PDF file ...

Discover More

Positioning a Graphic in a Macro

Macros are a great way to process information in a worksheet. Part of that processing may involve moving graphics around ...

Discover More

Saving Non-Existent Changes

Open a workbook, look at the data, start to close the workbook, and you are asked if you want to save your changes. What ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Converting Cells to Proper Case

When storing text in a worksheet, you may have a need to change the case of that text so that the initial letter in each ...

Discover More

Running a Macro when a Workbook is Closed

One of the automatic macros you can set up in Excel is one that is triggered when a workbook is closed. This tip explains ...

Discover More

Running a Procedure when a Workbook is Opened

Ever want to have Excel run a procedure whenever you open a workbook? It's not as difficult as you might think. Here's how.

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is eight more than 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.