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: Merging Many Workbooks.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 28, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Joy ran into a problem merging quite a few workbooks together. The majority of the workbooks—about 200 of them, all in a single folder—each contain a single worksheet, but some contain more. The worksheets form each of these workbooks needs to be added to a single workbook.
The easiest way to do merges of this magnitude—particularly if you have to do it often—is with a macro. The following macro displays a dialog box asking you to select the files to merge. (You can select multiple workbooks by holding down the Ctrl key as you click each one.) It loops thru the list you select, opening each one and moving all its worksheets to the end of the workbook with the code.
Sub CombineWorkbooks()
Dim FilesToOpen
Dim x As Integer
Dim Outwbk As Workbook
Set Outwbk = ActiveWorkbook
On Error GoTo ErrHandler
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
FilesToOpen = Application.GetOpenFilename _
(FileFilter:="Microsoft Excel Files (*.xls), *.xls", _
MultiSelect:=True, Title:="Files to Merge")
If TypeName(FilesToOpen) = "Boolean" Then
MsgBox "No Files were selected"
GoTo ExitHandler
End If
x = 1
While x <= UBound(FilesToOpen)
Workbooks.Open Filename:=FilesToOpen(x)
Sheets().Move After:=Outwbk.Sheets(Outwbk.Sheets.Count)
x = x + 1
Wend
ExitHandler:
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
Exit Sub
ErrHandler:
MsgBox Err.Description
Resume ExitHandler
End Sub
In the process of adding the worksheets to the end of the workbook, Excel will automatically append a (2), (3), etc. when duplicates worksheet names are detected. Any formulas in the book referring to other sheets will also be updated to reflect the new names.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2409) 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: Merging Many Workbooks.
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