How do you save a copy of an existing Excel file?

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Copying a sheet of data from one workbook to another sounds like a complicated job. In truth, Excel has a built-in feature that makes quick work of this task, but as usual, there’s more than one way to get the job done in Excel. First, I’ll show you Excel’s built-in route. Then, I’ll show you a second method, that’s just as easy.

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To copy a sheet from one Excel workbook to another, using Excel’s user interface, do the following:

1. Open the source and the target workbook. (The source workbook contains the sheet you want to copy or move. You’ll move or copy the source sheet to the target workbook.)
2. In the source workbook, navigate to the sheet you want to copy or move.
3. Click the Home tab and then click the Format dropdown in the Cells group. Then, select Move Or Copy Sheet in the Organize Sheets section. In Word 2003, choose Move Or Copy Sheet from the Edit menu. To bypass the ribbon or menu, right-click the sheet tab in the source workbook and choose Move Or Copy from the resulting shortcut menu.
4. In the Move Or Copy dialog, choose the target sheet from the To Book dropdown. Excel will display only the open workbooks in this list.
5. If necessary, update the Before Sheet selection.
6. If you want to copy rather than move the sheet, click the Create A Copy option at the bottom of the dialog.
7. Click OK and Excel will move or copy the sheet to the target workbook.

Now, let’s try a different technique to do the same thing. I won’t call it a shortcut, but it’s always great to have another route, just in case. With both the source and target workbooks open, do the following:

1. Click the View tab and choose View Side By Side in the Window group. Excel will split the screen, horizontally, between the two workbooks. In Excel 2003, you’ll find this option on the Window menu.
2. Click the sheet tab in the source workbook and drag it to the target workbook. If you want to copy the sheet instead of move it, hold down the [Ctrl] key while you drag the sheet to the target workbook.

That’s all there is to it! The next time you need to copy data from one workbook to another, forget the copy and paste feature–just drag the sheet.

Warning!

Moving a sheet isn’t without its problems–problems that might show up later. If the sheet contains a procedure that references another sheet in the source workbook, Excel will do its best to find the source workbook. If it can’t, you’ll get errors when you run that procedure.

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A bonus Microsoft Excel tip

From the article 10 things you should never do in Excel by Susan Harkins:

Rely on default settings: Excel defaults might be adequate for some or even most users, but if you find yourself resetting things every time you start a new workbook file, stop. Instead, open a blank workbook, change those settings, and save the file as a template. Then, base new workbook files on the template instead of Excel’s built-in template. Or alter the default workbook.

This bonus Excel tip is also available in the free PDF 30 things you should never do in Microsoft Office.

Editor’s note on Feb. 14, 2019: This Excel article was first published in March 2012. Since then, we have included a video tutorial, added a bonus tip, and updated the related resources.

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After you’ve created a workbook, you need to save it if you want to use it again. Also, if you make changes to a workbook you’ll want to save it. You can even save a copy of an existing workbook with a new name, to a different location, or using a different file type.

Once you’ve created a new workbook, you’ll need to save it if you want to use it again.

1. Click the Save button.
   

   Press Ctrl + S to quickly save a workbook.

   If this is the first time you’ve saved the workbook, the Save As screen will appear.

2. Choose where you want to save your file:
   • OneDrive: Save to Microsoft’s cloud-based storage so you can open the worksheet on another computer.
   • SharePoint: Save the workbook to a connected SharePoint server.
   • This PC: Save to the local storage on your computer.
   • Browse: Opens a dialog box, where you can browse through your computer’s folders, drives, and network shares.
3. Enter a file name.
4. Click Save.
   

If an Excel file is saved online, the AutoSave feature in the top-left is automatically turned on. However, this can be changed as needed.

1. Click the AutoSave toggle button to turn the feature on or off.
   

As you continue to work in Excel, you'll want to save any changes you make from time to time.

1. Click the Save button.
   

Press Ctrl + S to quickly save a workbook.

Try to save your progress every 10 minutes; that way you won’t lose any important changes if disaster strikes.

Sometimes you may want to make a copy of an existing workbook and save it with a new name. Using and modifying the content in an existing workbook can often save you a lot of time.

1. Click the File tab.
   

2. Click Save As.
3. Click This PC to navigate to the folder you want to save your file.
   

4. Enter a File name.
5. Click Save.
   

Excel normally saves its files as Excel workbooks, but you can save information to other file formats as well. For example, sometimes you may want to save your data as a Comma Separated Values or CSV file, so you can import it into another program.

1. Click the File tab.
   

2. Click Save As.
3. Click the Save as type list arrow.

   The default file type is an XLSX Excel file, but you can choose from plenty of other file formats in this menu.

4. Select the desired format.
5. Click Save.
   

File TypeExtensionDescriptionCSV.csvComma delimited text file, often used to import/export data.Excel Workbook.xlsxThe default XLM-based file format for Excel, in use since Excel 2007.Excel 97-2003 Workbook.xlsExcel files from Excel 2003 and older.Excel Macro-Enabled Template.xlsmExcel template that contains macros.Excel Template.xltxExcel template files.PDF.pdfPortable Document Format, a format that preserves document formatting and allows file sharing.Web Page.htmlA web page that is saved as a folder and contains an .htm file and supporting files, such as images.

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