Open Workbooks Don't Display

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 17, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Dan has several Excel workbooks he cannot open and several that he can. When he attempts to open the problem workbooks he is asked about updating links but he does not get any error messages. The open process seems to complete, but the workbook does not display. If he tries to open the workbook again, Excel tells him the file is already open. If he tries to close Excel, he is asked if he wants to save the workbook. Otherwise, there is no evidence that the workbook is open. Dan wonders how he can get around this.

There are two likely scenarios here. First, it could be that your worksheets are hidden. You can check this by following these steps:

  1. Choose Sheet from the Format menu. Excel displays a submenu.
  2. Choose Unhide from the submenu. Excel displays the Unhide dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Unhide dialog box.

  4. Select the worksheet name you want to unhide.
  5. Click on OK.

Second, it could be that the worksheet is actually visible, but simply off screen. You can check this by simply right-clicking on the task bar and selecting Cascade Windows from the resulting Context menu.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11854) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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

Displaying a Hidden First Column

Hiding columns is easy, even hiding column A. How, then, do you get that left-most column displayed again? Here are a few ...

Discover More

Importing Multiple Files to a Single Workbook

If you use Excel to work with data exported from another program, you might be interested in a way to import a large ...

Discover More

Formatting Currency

If you need to format a number so that it appears as currency, it is not as easy to do in Word as it is in Excel. You can ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Limiting Who Can Delete Data

Excel allows you to protect your worksheet data in several different ways. Unfortunately, it doesn't allow you to protect ...

Discover More

Automatically Hiding the Personal Workbook

If you leave your Personal.xls workbook visible from one Excel session to another, you may find that you unwittingly make ...

Discover More

Invalid Names when Opening Workbook

Don't you hate opening a workbook and seeing error messages? If you see a message that some "invalid names" were detected ...

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 2?

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.