Setting Your Default Directory

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 18, 2023)

Normally, Excel starts looking for spreadsheets in the directory in which you started the program. Typically this is your directory. If you want to change the default directory path, you can do so in the following manner:

  1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. You will see the Options dialog box.
  2. Make sure the General tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The General tab of the Options dialog box.

  3. Change the Default File Location box to reflect the path of the directory you want to use as the default for your Excel files.
  4. Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2632) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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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. ...

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