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Excel - Customize Your Workbook and File List Settings for a Smoother Experience - Episode 421

264 views · Published 24 September 2009 · 3:04 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: MrExcel.com · 2009 · Education

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Microsoft Excel Tutorial: Customize Your Workbook and File List Settings for a Smoother Experience.
Welcome back to the MrExcel netcast! In this video, I'll be sharing some simple settings in Excel 2003 that can make your life a little bit easier. Have you ever opened an Excel workbook and noticed that Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3 are all blank? It's a common default setting in Excel, but it can be a bit of a hassle to always have those extra sheets when you only need one. 

To change this, simply go to Tools, Options, and then click on the General tab. From there, you can change the setting for "Sheets in new workbook" to 1. This means that every new workbook you create will only have one worksheet, saving you space and time. Of course, if you need more sheets, you can always use the Insert menu to add them. 

Another interesting setting on the General tab is the "Recently used file list." By default, Excel 2003 only shows the last 4 files at the bottom of your file menu. But did you know you can increase this to 9? Simply go to Tools, Options, and use the spin button to change the setting. This way, you can easily access the last 9 files you opened. 

Now, I know this isn't an Excel 2007 Tuesday or Thursday, but I have to show you a huge improvement they made to the Recently used file list in Excel 2007. Not only can it handle up to 50 different files, but it also has a new feature called "pin to list." This allows you to pin a specific file to the list, so it will always be there no matter how many other files you open. To unpin it, simply click on the thumbtack again. 

If you're using Excel 2003 through Excel '97, you can still access this setting by going to Tools, Options, and changing the Recently used file list to show at least 9 files instead of the default 4. I hope these tips will help make your Excel experience a little bit smoother. Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe for more helpful tips and tricks from MrExcel. See you next time!

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Table of Contents:
(00:00) Introduction to Excel 2003 settings
(00:24) Default number of sheets in a new workbook
(00:43) Changing the number of sheets in a new workbook
(01:24) Recently used file list settings
(01:57) Improvements in Excel 2007's recently used file list
(02:19) Pinning files to the recently used list in Excel 2007
(02:29) Pinning files in older versions of Excel
(02:44) Clicking Like really helps the algorithm

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This netcast has a couple of tips from Tools - Options - General. First, learn how to control the number of worksheets in your new workbooks. Second, learn how to increase the number of files in your recently used file list. Plus a sneak peak in Episode 421 of how the Recently Used File List is improved in Excel 2007.

This blog is the video podcast companion to the book, Learn Excel from MrExcel. Download a new two minute video every workday to learn one of the 277 tips from the book!

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