Leading the way in Microsoft Office Development

New Workbook Task Pane

Select (File > New) to display the Task Pane.

Blank Workbook

When you start Excel a blank workbook is automatically opened for you.

You can easily create a blank workbook by using the shortcut key (Ctrl + N).

Alternatively you can use the button on the Standard toolbar.

 New - Creates a new workbook with the default number of worksheets.

By default every new blank workbook consists of 3 worksheets.

This can be changed by selecting (Tools > Options)(General tab, Sheets in new workbook).

From Existing Workbook

When you create a workbook Excel just creates a copy of the template, leaving the original template unchanged.

Templates on Office Online

On My Computer

All the default templates will appear on the General tab

All user-generated templates are normally stored on the General tab

On My Websites

From Windows Explorer

It is also possible to use the right mouse button to select an existing workbook and by selecting "New" you will create a new workbook based on that template.

Double click on the file or select the file and press Open/Create

You can double click the filename to create a copy of the template.

Workbook Names

The default workbook name is the name of the template with a number appended to the end.

If you create a new workbook from a template called MyTemplate.xlt then this workbook will have the default filename of MyTemplate1.xls.

Things to Remember