Sheet views in excel

Have you ever collaborated with someone else in a worksheet, looking at a large data set, and suddenly the table shrinks and you're unable to finish your work? It's pretty disruptive isn't it?

Sheet views are an innovative way of letting you create customized views in an Excel worksheet without being disrupted by others. For instance, you can set up a filter to display only the records that are important to you, without being affected by others sorting and filtering in the document. You can even set up multiple sheet views on the same worksheet. Any cell-level edits you make will automatically be saved with the workbook regardless of which view you're in.

Note: Sheet views are currently limited to Excel 2007 or later files stored in OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, and SharePoint. If you save a local copy of a file that contains sheet views, the sheet views will be unavailable until the file is saved to SharePoint and opened from that environment. If you add sheet views to a workbook and save it as Excel 97-2003, the sheet views will be discarded.

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How do I add a sheet view?

Select the worksheet where you want the sheet view, and go to View > Sheet View > New. Next, apply the sort/filter that you want. Excel will automatically name your new view: Temporary View. Your view is initially temporary, so if you want to keep it, select that view name from the sheet view switcher drop-down, type your new name, then press Enter.

Notes: 

• If other people are working on the file, you can sort or filter, and we'll ask if you want to apply that sort or filter for just you, or everyone. This is another entry point for sheet views.

• When you're ready to display a particular view, you can select it from the sheet view switcher drop-down.

• The sheet view switcher only displays views for the active worksheet.

• When a sheet view is applied, there will be an eye symbol next to the worksheet tab name. Hovering over it will display the active sheet view's name.

• When you first create a new sheet view, Excel will preserve your initial view and display it in the sheet view switcher as Default. Selecting the default option will reset your view to where it was when you started.

How do I close or switch between sheet views?

If you want to close a sheet view and return to the default view, go to View > Sheet View > Exit. To switch between views, go to View > Sheet View, and select your view from the sheet view switcher drop-down list.

How do I delete a sheet view?

If you decide that you no longer want a particular sheet view, you can go to View > Sheet Views > Options, select the view in question, then press Delete. You can use Shift/Ctrl+left-click to select multiple views to delete.

Sheet View Options

There is an Options dialog within the Sheet View group on the View tab. This dialog lists all sheet views that are associated with a given worksheet. You also have the options to Rename, Duplicate, or Delete existing views. To activate a view from the Options dialog, you can double-click it from the views list, or select it, then use the Switch to... button.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why wouldn't I want a sheet view? Let's say you're in a meeting, and need everyone to see what you do. Sheet views could get confusing if you're not all looking at the same thing.

How do I exit a view? Go to the View tab > Sheet Views > Exit.

What happens when a sheet view is active and I close the file and reopen? Any active sheet view will automatically reset to the default view.

Is a sheet view private, and only for me? No, other people who share the workbook can see views you create if they go to the View tab, and look at the sheet view switcher drop-down in the Sheet Views group.

Can I make different sheet views? You can create up to 256 Sheet Views, but you probably don't want to get overly complicated.

For desktop, it's more useful when everyone in a document is using Sheet View so that when coauthoring, no one is being impacted by each others' sorts and filters.

Add a sheet view

1. Select the worksheet where you want the sheet view, then click to View > Sheet View > New.

2. Apply the sort/filter that you want. Excel automatically names your new view Temporary View to indicate the sheet view isn't saved yet. To save it, click Temporary View in the sheet view menu, type the new sheet view name, and then press Enter.

Notes: 

• If other people are working on the file, you can sort or filter, and Excel asks if you want to apply that sort or filter for just you, or everyone. This is another entry point for sheet views.

• When you're ready to display a particular view, you can select it from the sheet view menu.

• The sheet view menu only displays views for the active worksheet.

• When a sheet view is applied, an eye symbol appears next to the worksheet tab name. Hovering over the eye will display the active sheet view's name.

• When you first create a new sheet view, Excel will preserve your initial view and display it in the sheet view switcher as Default. Selecting the default option will reset your view to the main view of the document.

Close or switch between sheet views

• To close a sheet view and return to the default view, click View > Sheet View > Exit.

• To switch between views, click View > Sheet View and then select your view from the sheet view menu.

Delete a sheet view

If you decide that you no longer want a particular sheet view, click View > Sheet Views > Options, select the view in question, and then press Delete. 

Sheet View options

There is an Options dialog within the Sheet View group on the View tab. This dialog lists all sheet views that are associated with a given worksheet. You can also Rename, Duplicate, or Delete existing views. To activate a view from the Options dialog, you can double-click the in the sheet views list, or select it, then use the Switch to... button.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my Sheet View options appear grayed out? You can only use Sheet Views in a document that is stored in a SharePoint or OneDrive location.

Is a sheet view private, and only for me? No, other people who share the workbook can see views you create if they go to the View tab, and look at the sheet view menu in the Sheet Views group.

Need more help?

You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community, get support in the Answers community, or suggest a new feature or improvement on Excel User Voice.

See Also

Learn more about Sheet Views