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: Easily Changing the Default Drive and Directory.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 22, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
In other issues of ExcelTips you learned how you can use VBA to switch the current drive and directory. In short, you can change drive and directory as follows:
MyDrive = "E:" MyFolder = "\MyDocs\ThisFolder\" ChDrive MyDrive ChDir MyFolder
When done, the current directory will be E:\MyDocs\ThisFolder\. VBA provides a handy shortcut that allows you to easily specify both the drive and directory using the same information. Consider the following:
MyPath = "E:\MyDocs\ThisFolder\" ChDrive MyPath ChDir MyPath
This code contains one less line (and one less variable), but it does the same thing. VBA, when executing the ChDrive command, only pays attention to the drive letter in a path. This allows you to easily set the single variable to your path, and then use it when both setting drives and directories.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2547) 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: Easily Changing the Default Drive and Directory.
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