Set this workbook excel vba

In this tutorial, I will cover the how to work with workbooks in Excel using VBA.

In Excel, a ‘Workbook’ is an object that is a part of the ‘Workbooks’ collection. Within a workbook, you have different objects such as worksheets, chart sheets, cells and ranges, chart objects, shapes, etc.

With VBA, you can do a lot of stuff with a workbook object – such as open a specific workbook, save and close workbooks, create new workbooks, change the workbook properties, etc.

So let’s get started.

If you’re interested in learning VBA the easy way, check out my Online Excel VBA Training.

Referencing a Workbook using VBA

There are different ways to refer to a Workbook object in VBA.

The method you choose would depend on what you want to get done.

In this section, I will cover the different ways to refer to a workbook along with some example codes.

Using Workbook Names

If you have the exact name of the workbook that you want to refer to, you can use the name in the code.

Let’s begin with a simple example.

If you have two workbooks open, and you want to activate the workbook with the name – Examples.xlsx, you can use the below code:

Sub ActivateWorkbook()
Workbooks("Examples.xlsx").Activate
End Sub

Note that you need to use the file name along with the extension if the file has been saved. If it hasn’t been saved, then you can use the name without the file extension.

If you’re not sure what name to use, take help from the Project Explorer.

If you want to activate a workbook and select a specific cell in a worksheet in that workbook, you need to give the entire address of the cell (including the Workbook and the Worksheet name).

Sub ActivateWorkbook()
Workbooks("Examples.xlsx").Worksheets("Sheet1").Activate
Range("A1").Select
End Sub

The above code first activates Sheet1 in the Examples.xlsx workbook and then selects cell A1 in the sheet.

You will often see a code where a reference to a worksheet or a cell/range is made without referring to the workbook. This happens when you’re referring to the worksheet/ranges in the same workbook that has the code in it and is also the active workbook. However, in some cases, you do need to specify the workbook to make sure the code works (more on this in the ThisWorkbook section).

Using Index Numbers

You can also refer to the workbooks based on their index number.

For example, if you have three workbooks open, the following code would show you the names of the three workbooks in a message box (one at a time).

Sub WorkbookName()
MsgBox Workbooks(1).Name
MsgBox Workbooks(2).Name
MsgBox Workbooks(3).Name
End Sub

The above code uses MsgBox – which is a function that shows a message box with the specified text/value (which is the workbook name in this case).

One of the troubles I often have with using index numbers with Workbooks is that you never know which one is the first workbook and which one is the second and so on. To be sure, you would have to run the code as shown above or something similar to loop through the open workbooks and know their index number.

Excel treats the workbook opened first to have the index number as 1, and the next one as 2 and so on.

Despite this drawback, using index numbers can come in handy.

For example, if you want to loop through all the open workbooks and save all, you can use the index numbers.

In this case, since you want this to happen to all the workbooks, you’re not concerned about their individual index numbers.

The below code would loop through all the open workbooks and close all except the workbook that has this VBA code.

Sub CloseWorkbooks()
Dim WbCount As Integer
WbCount = Workbooks.Count
For i = WbCount To 1 Step -1
If Workbooks(i).Name <> ThisWorkbook.Name Then
Workbooks(i).Close
End If
Next i
End Sub

The above code counts the number of open workbooks and then goes through all the workbooks using the For Each loop.

It uses the IF condition to check if the name of the workbook is the same as that of the workbook where the code is being run.

If it’s not a match, it closes the workbook and moves to the next one.

Note that we have run the loop from WbCount to 1 with a Step of -1. This is done as with each loop, the number of open workbooks is decreasing.

ThisWorkbook is covered in detail in the later section.

Also read: How to Open Excel Files Using VBA (Examples)

Using ActiveWorkbook

ActiveWorkbook, as the name suggests, refers to the workbook that is active.

The below code would show you the name of the active workbook.

Sub ActiveWorkbookName()
MsgBox ActiveWorkbook.Name
End Sub

When you use VBA to activate another workbook, the ActiveWorkbook part in the VBA after that would start referring to the activated workbook.

Here is an example of this.

If you have a workbook active and you insert the following code into it and run it, it would first show the name of the workbook that has the code and then the name of Examples.xlsx (which gets activated by the code).

Sub ActiveWorkbookName()
MsgBox ActiveWorkbook.Name
Workbooks("Examples.xlsx").Activate
MsgBox ActiveWorkbook.Name
End Sub

Note that when you create a new workbook using VBA, that newly created workbook automatically becomes the active workbook.

Using ThisWorkbook

ThisWorkbook refers to the workbook where the code is being executed.

Every workbook would have a ThisWorkbook object as a part of it (visible in the Project Explorer).

‘ThisWorkbook’ can store regular macros (similar to the ones that we add-in modules) as well as event procedures. An event procedure is something that is triggered based on an event – such as double-clicking on a cell, or saving a workbook or activating a worksheet.

Any event procedure that you save in this ‘ThisWorkbook’ would be available in the entire workbook, as compared to the sheet level events which are restricted to the specific sheets only.

For example, if you double-click on the ThisWorkbook object in the Project Explorer and copy-paste the below code in it, it will show the cell address whenever you double-click on any of the cells in the entire workbook.

Private Sub Workbook_SheetBeforeDoubleClick(ByVal Sh As Object, ByVal Target As Range, Cancel As Boolean)
MsgBox Target.Address
End Sub

While ThisWorkbook’s main role is to store event procedure, you can also use it to refer to the workbook where the code is being executed.

The below code would return the name of the workbook in which the code is being executed.

Sub ThisWorkbookName()
MsgBox ThisWorkbook.Name
End Sub

The benefit of using ThisWorkbook (over ActiveWorkbook) is that it would refer to the same workbook (the one that has the code in it) in all the cases. So if you use a VBA code to add a new workbook, the ActiveWorkbook would change, but ThisWorkbook would still refer to the one that has the code.

Creating a New Workbook Object

The following code will create a new workbook.

Sub CreateNewWorkbook()
Workbooks.Add
End Sub

When you add a new workbook, it becomes the active workbook.

The following code will add a new workbook and then show you the name of that workbook (which would be the default Book1 type name).

Sub CreateNewWorkbook()
Workbooks.Add
MsgBox ActiveWorkbook.Name
End Sub

Open a Workbook using VBA

You can use VBA to open a specific workbook when you know the file path of the workbook.

The below code will open the workbook – Examples.xlsx which is in the Documents folder on my system.

Sub OpenWorkbook()
Workbooks.Open ("C:UserssumitDocumentsExamples.xlsx")
End Sub

In case the file exists in the default folder, which is the folder where VBA saves new files by default, then you can just specify the workbook name – without the entire path.

Sub OpenWorkbook()
Workbooks.Open ("Examples.xlsx")
End Sub

In case the workbook that you’re trying to open doesn’t exist, you’ll see an error.

To avoid this error, you can add a few lines to your code to first check whether the file exists or not and if it exists then try to open it.

The below code would check the file location and if it doesn’t exist, it will show a custom message (not the error message):

Sub OpenWorkbook()
If Dir("C:UserssumitDocumentsExamples.xlsx") <> "" Then
Workbooks.Open ("C:UserssumitDocumentsExamples.xlsx")
Else
MsgBox "The file doesn't exist"
End If
End Sub

You can also use the Open dialog box to select the file that you want to open.

Sub OpenWorkbook()
If Dir("C:UserssumitDocumentsExamples.xlsx") <> "" Then
Workbooks.Open ("C:UserssumitDocumentsExamples.xlsx")
Else
MsgBox "The file doesn't exist"
End If
End Sub

The above code opens the Open dialog box. When you select a file that you want to open, it assigns the file path to the FilePath variable. Workbooks.Open then uses the file path to open the file.

In case the user doesn’t open a file and clicks on Cancel button, FilePath becomes False. To avoid getting an error in this case, we have used the ‘On Error Resume Next’ statement.

Saving a Workbook

To save the active workbook, use the code below:

Sub SaveWorkbook()
ActiveWorkbook.Save
End Sub

This code works for the workbooks that have already been saved earlier. Also, since the workbook contains the above macro, if it hasn’t been saved as a .xlsm (or .xls) file, you will lose the macro when you open it next.

If you’re saving the workbook for the first time, it will show you a prompt as shown below:

When saving for the first time, it’s better to use the ‘Saveas’ option.

The below code would save the active workbook as a .xlsm file in the default location (which is the document folder in my system).

Sub SaveWorkbook()
ActiveWorkbook.SaveAs Filename:="Test.xlsm", FileFormat:=xlOpenXMLWorkbookMacroEnabled
End Sub

If you want the file to be saved in a specific location, you need to mention that in the Filename value. The below code saves the file on my desktop.

Sub SaveWorkbook()
ActiveWorkbook.SaveAs Filename:="C:UserssumitDesktopTest.xlsm", FileFormat:=xlOpenXMLWorkbookMacroEnabled
End Sub

If you want the user to get the option to select the location to save the file, you can use call the Saveas dialog box. The below code shows the Saveas dialog box and allows the user to select the location where the file should be saved.

Sub SaveWorkbook()
Dim FilePath As String
FilePath = Application.GetSaveAsFilename
ActiveWorkbook.SaveAs Filename:=FilePath & ".xlsm", FileFormat:=xlOpenXMLWorkbookMacroEnabled
End Sub

Note that instead of using FileFormat:=xlOpenXMLWorkbookMacroEnabled, you can also use FileFormat:=52, where 52 is the code xlOpenXMLWorkbookMacroEnabled.

Saving All Open Workbooks

If you have more than one workbook open and you want to save all the workbooks, you can use the code below:

Sub SaveAllWorkbooks()
Dim wb As Workbook
For Each wb In Workbooks
wb.Save
Next wb
End Sub

The above saves all the workbooks, including the ones that have never been saved. The workbooks that have not been saved previously would get saved in the default location.

If you only want to save those workbooks that have previously been saved, you can use the below code:

Sub SaveAllWorkbooks()
Dim wb As Workbook
For Each wb In Workbooks
If wb.Path <> "" Then
wb.Save
End If
Next wb
End Sub

Saving and Closing All Workbooks

If you want to close all the workbooks, except the workbook that has the current code in it, you can use the code below:

Sub CloseandSaveWorkbooks()
Dim wb As Workbook
For Each wb In Workbooks
If wb.Name <> ThisWorkbook.Name Then
wb.Close SaveChanges:=True
End If
Next wb
End Sub

The above code would close all the workbooks (except the workbook that has the code – ThisWorkbook). In case there are changes in these workbooks, the changes would be saved. In case there is a workbook that has never been saved, it will show the save as dialog box.

Save a Copy of the Workbook (with Timestamp)

When I am working with complex data and dashboard in Excel workbooks, I often create different versions of my workbooks. This is helpful in case something goes wrong with my current workbook. I would at least have a copy of it saved with a different name (and I would only lose the work I did after creating a copy).

Here is the VBA code that will create a copy of your workbook and save it in the specified location.

Sub CreateaCopyofWorkbook()
ThisWorkbook.SaveCopyAs Filename:="C:UserssumitDesktopBackupCopy.xlsm"
End Sub

The above code would save a copy of your workbook every time you run this macro.

While this works great, I would feel more comfortable if I had different copies saved whenever I run this code. The reason this is important is that if I make an inadvertent mistake and run this macro, it will save the work with the mistakes. And I wouldn’t have access to the work before I made the mistake.

To handle such situations, you can use the below code that saves a new copy of the work each time you save it. And it also adds a date and timestamp as a part of the workbook name. This can help you track any mistake you did as you never lose any of the previously created backups.

Private Sub Workbook_BeforeSave(ByVal SaveAsUI As Boolean, Cancel As Boolean)
ThisWorkbook.SaveCopyAs Filename:="C:UserssumitDesktopBackupCopy" & Format(Now(), "dd-mm-yy-hh-mm-ss-AMPM") & ".xlsm"
End Sub

The above code would create a copy every time you run this macro and add a date/time stamp to the workbook name.

Create a New Workbook for Each Worksheet

In some cases, you may have a workbook that has multiple worksheets, and you want to create a workbook for each worksheet.

This could be the case when you have monthly/quarterly reports in a single workbook and you want to split these into one workbook for each worksheet.

Or, if you have department wise reports and you want to split these into individual workbooks so that you can send these individual workbooks to the department heads.

Here is the code that will create a workbook for each worksheet, give it the same name as that of the worksheet, and save it in the specified folder.

Sub CreateWorkbookforWorksheets()
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim wb As Workbook
For Each ws In ThisWorkbook.Worksheets
Set wb = Workbooks.Add
ws.Copy Before:=wb.Sheets(1)
Application.DisplayAlerts = False
wb.Sheets(2).Delete
Application.DisplayAlerts = True
wb.SaveAs "C:UserssumitDesktopTest" & ws.Name & ".xlsx"
wb.Close
Next ws
End Sub

In the above code, we have used two variable ‘ws’ and ‘wb’.

The code goes through each worksheet (using the For Each Next loop) and creates a workbook for it. It also uses the copy method of the worksheet object to create a copy of the worksheet in the new workbook.

Note that I have used the SET statement to assign the ‘wb’ variable to any new workbook that is created by the code.

You can use this technique to assign a workbook object to a variable. This is covered in the next section.

Assign Workbook Object to a Variable

In VBA, you can assign an object to a variable, and then use the variable to refer to that object.

For example, in the below code, I use VBA to add a new workbook and then assign that workbook to the variable wb. To do this, I need to use the SET statement.

Once I have assigned the workbook to the variable, all the properties of the workbook are made available to the variable as well.

Sub AssigntoVariable()
Dim wb As Workbook
Set wb = Workbooks.Add
wb.SaveAs Filename:="C:UserssumitDesktopExamples.xlsx"
End Sub

Note that the first step in the code is to declare ‘wb’ as a workbook type variable. This tells VBA that this variable can hold the workbook object.

The next statement uses SET to assign the variable to the new workbook that we are adding. Once this assignment is done, we can use the wb variable to save the workbook (or do anything else with it).

Looping through Open Workbooks

We have already seen a few examples codes above that used looping in the code.

In this section, I will explain different ways to loop through open workbooks using VBA.

Suppose you want to save and close all the open workbooks, except the one with the code in it, then you can use the below code:

Sub CloseandSaveWorkbooks()
Dim wb As Workbook
For Each wb In Workbooks
If wb.Name <> ThisWorkbook.Name Then
wb.Close SaveChanges:=True
End If
Next wb
End Sub

The above code uses the For Each loop to go through each workbook in the Workbooks collection. To do this, we first need to declare ‘wb’ as the workbook type variable.

In every loop cycle, each workbook name is analyzed and if it doesn’t match the name of the workbook that has the code, it’s closed after saving its content.

The same can also be achieved with a different loop as shown below:

Sub CloseWorkbooks()
Dim WbCount As Integer
WbCount = Workbooks.Count
For i = WbCount To 1 Step -1
If Workbooks(i).Name <> ThisWorkbook.Name Then
Workbooks(i).Close SaveChanges:=True
End If
Next i
End Sub

The above code uses the For Next loop to close all the workbooks except the one that has the code in it. In this case, we don’t need to declare a workbook variable, but instead, we need to count the total number of open workbooks. When we have the count, we use the For Next loop to go through each workbook. Also, we use the index number to refer to the workbooks in this case.

Note that in the above code, we are looping from WbCount to 1 with Step -1. This is needed as with each loop, the workbook gets closed and the number of workbooks gets decreased by 1.

Error while Working with the Workbook Object (Run-time error ‘9’)

One of the most common error you may encounter when working with workbooks is – Run-time Error ‘9’ – Subscript out of range.

Generally, VBA errors are not very informative and often leave it to you to figure out what went wrong.

Here are some of the possible reasons that may lead to this error:

•  The workbook that you’re trying to access does not exist. For example, if I am trying to access the fifth workbook using Workbooks(5), and there are only 4 workbooks open, then I will get this error.
• If you’re using a wrong name to refer to the workbook. For example, if your workbook name is Examples.xlsx and you use Example.xlsx. then it will show you this error.
• If you haven’t saved a workbook, and you use the extension, then you get this error. For example, if your workbook name is Book1, and you use the name Book1.xlsx without saving it, you will get this error.
• The workbook you’re trying to access is closed.

Get a List of All Open Workbooks

If you want to get a list of all the open workbooks in the current workbook (the workbook where you’re running the code), you can use the below code:

Sub GetWorkbookNames()
Dim wbcount As Integer
wbcount = Workbooks.Count
ThisWorkbook.Worksheets.Add
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Activate
For i = 1 To wbcount
Range("A1").Offset(i - 1, 0).Value = Workbooks(i).Name
Next i
End Sub

The above code adds a new worksheet and then lists the name of all the open workbooks.

If you want to get their file path as well, you can use the below code:

Sub GetWorkbookNames()
Dim wbcount As Integer
wbcount = Workbooks.Count
ThisWorkbook.Worksheets.Add
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Activate
For i = 1 To wbcount
Range("A1").Offset(i - 1, 0).Value = Workbooks(i).Path & "" & Workbooks(i).Name
Next i
End Sub

Open the Specified Workbook by Double-clicking on the Cell

If you have a list of file paths for Excel workbooks, you can use the below code to simply double-click on the cell with the file path and it will open that workbook.

Private Sub Workbook_SheetBeforeDoubleClick(ByVal Sh As Object, ByVal Target As Range, Cancel As Boolean)
Workbooks.Open Target.Value
End Sub

This code would be placed in the ThisWorkbook code window.

To do this:

• Double click on the ThisWorkbook object in the project explorer. Note that the ThisWorkbook object should be in the workbook where you want this functionality.
• Copy and paste the above code.

Now, if you have the exact path of the files that you want to open, you can do that by simply double-clicking on the file path and VBA would instantly open that workbook.

Where to Put the VBA Code

Wondering where the VBA code goes in your Excel workbook?

Excel has a VBA backend called the VBA editor. You need to copy and paste the code into the VB Editor module code window.

Here are the steps to do this:

1. Go to the Developer tab.
2. Click on the Visual Basic option. This will open the VB editor in the backend.
3. In the Project Explorer pane in the VB Editor, right-click on any object for the workbook in which you want to insert the code. If you don’t see the Project Explorer go to the View tab and click on Project Explorer.
4. Go to Insert and click on Module. This will insert a module object for your workbook.
5. Copy and paste the code in the module window.

You May Also Like the Following Excel VBA Tutorials:

• How to Record a Macro in Excel.
• Creating a User Defined Function in Excel.
• How to Create and Use Add-in in Excel.
• How to Resue Macros by placing it in the Personal Macro Workbook.
• Get the List of File Names from a Folder in Excel (with and without VBA).
• How to Use Excel VBA InStr Function (with practical EXAMPLES).
• How to Sort Data in Excel using VBA (A Step-by-Step Guide).

This guide will introduce you working with the Workbook Object in VBA.

The Workbook Object

First, in order to interact with workbooks in VBA, you must understand the Workbook Object.

With the workbook object, you can reference workbooks by their name like this:

Workbooks("Book2.xlsm").Activate

However, this code will only work if the workbook is open. If the workbook is closed, you will need to provide the full workbook path:

Workbooks.Open ("C:UsersStevePC2Downloadsbook2.xlsm")

Instead of typing out the full path, if your desired workbook is in the same directory as the workbook where your code is stored, you could use this line code to open the workbook:

Workbooks.Open (ThisWorkbook.Path & "book2.xlsm")

This makes use of the ThisWorkbook object that we will discuss in the next section.

Workbook Index Number

Last, you can reference workbooks by their “Index Number”. The index number of a workbook corresponds to the order that the workbook was opened (technically its the workbook’s position in the Workbooks Collection).

Workbooks(1).Activate

This is useful if you want to do something like close the first (or last) opened workbook.

Activate Workbook, ActiveWorkbook, and ThisWorkbook

If a workbook is NOT ACTIVE, you can access the Workbook’s objects like this:

Workbooks("Book2.xlsm").Sheets("Sheet1").Range("A1").value = 1

However, if the workbook is Active, you can omit the workbook object:

Sheets("Sheet1").Range("A1").value = 1

And if you want to interact with the workbook’s active sheet, you can also ommit the sheets object:

Range("A1").value = 1

Activate Workbook

To activate a workbook, use the Activate Method.

Workbooks("Book2.xlsm").Activate

Now you can interact with Book2’s object’s without explicitly stating the workbook name.

ActiveWorkbook

The ActiveWorkbook object always refer to the active workbook. This is useful if you’d like to assign the ActiveWorkbook to a variable to use later.

Dim wb As Workbook
Set wb = ActiveWorkbook

ThisWorkbook

The ThisWorkbook object always refers to the workbook where the running code is stored. To activate ThisWorkbook, use this line of code:

ThisWorkbook.Activate

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Open Workbook

To open a workbook, use the Open Method:

Workbooks.Open ("C:UsersStevePC2Downloadsbook2.xlsm")

The newly opened workbook will always become the ActiveWorkbook, allowing you to easily interact with it.

ActiveWorkbook.Save

The Open Method has several other arguments, allowing you to open read-only, open a password-protected workbook, and more. It’s covered here in our article about Opening / Closing Workbooks.

Open and Assign to Variable

You can also open a workbook and assign it to a variable at the same time:

Dim wb As Workbook
Set wb = Workbooks.Open("C:UsersStevePC2Downloadsbook2.xlsm")

Open File Dialog

You can also trigger the Open File Dialog Box like this:

Sub OpenWorkbook ()
 
    Dim strFile As String
 
    strFile = Application.GetOpenFilename()
    Workbooks.Open (strFile)
 
End Sub

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Create New (Add) Workbook

This line of code will create a new workbook:

Workbooks.Add

The new workbook now becomes the ActiveWorkbook, allowing you to interact with it (ex. save the new workbook).

Add New Workbook to Variable

You can also add a new workbook directly to a variable:

Dim wb As Workbook
Set wb = Workbooks.Add

Close Workbook

Close & Save

To close a workbook with saving, use the Close Method with SaveChanges set to TRUE:

ActiveWorkbook.Close SaveChanges:=True

Close without Save

To close without saving, set SaveChanges equal to FALSE:

ActiveWorkbook.Close SaveChanges:=False

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Workbook Save As

The SaveAs Method is used to save a workbook as.

To save a workbook with a new name, in the same directory, you can imply use this:

ActiveWorkbook.SaveAs "new"

where “new” is the new file name.

To save a workbook in a new directory with a specific file extension, simply specify the new directory and file name:

ActiveWorkbook.SaveAs "C:UsersStevePC2Downloadsnew.xlsm"

Other Workbook VBA Examples

Workbook Name

To get the name of a workbook:

MsgBox ActiveWorkbook.Name

Protect Workbook

To protect the workbook structure from editing, you can use the Protect Method (password optional):

Workbooks("book1.xlsm").Protect "password"

To unprotect a workbook use the UnProtect Method:

Workbooks("book1.xlsm").Unprotect "password"

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Loop Through all Open Workbooks

To loop through all open workbooks:

Sub LoopThroughWBs()
    
    Dim wb As Workbook
    
    For Each wb In Workbooks
        MsgBox wb.Name
    Next wb

End Sub

Workbook Activate Event

You can run some code whenever a specific workbook is opened with the Workbook Open Event.

Place this procedure your workbook’s ThisWorkbook Module:

Private Sub Workbook_Open()
    Sheets("sheet1").Activate
End Sub

This procedure will activate Sheet1 every time the workbook is opened.

Home / VBA / VBA ThisWorkbook (Current Excel File)

In VBA, you can use the ThisWorkbook property to refer to the workbook where you are writing the code. When you use it, you get access to all the properties and methods of the current workbook. In simple words, you can execute all the tasks in the current workbook without using the name.

Let’s say you want to count the sheets from the current workbook. The code you need to write would be like the following.

Sub vba_thisworkbook()
MsgBox ThisWorkbook.Sheets.Count
End Sub

When you run this code shows you a message box with the count of the sheets that you have in the current workbook.

As I said, when you use the ThisWorkbook it gives you access to the properties and method for the current workbook. You can see all of these when you enter a (.) dot to see the complete list.

Helpful Links: Run a Macro – Macro Recorder – Visual Basic Editor – Personal Macro Workbook

Using ThisWorkbook with a Variable

Next, I’ll show you a real-life code example to declare a variable to use the ThisWorkbook property. Let’s say you want to perform multiple activities in the current workbook.

Sub vba_thisworkbook()
Dim myWB As Workbook
Set myWB = ThisWorkbook
With myWB
    .Activate
    .Sheets(1).Activate
    .Range("A1") = Now
    .Save
    .Close
End With
End Sub

In the first part of this code, you have a variable and then assign “ThisWorkbook” property to it. And then in the second part, you have the WITH STATEMENT to perform multiple activities with the current variable.

ActiveWorkBook Vs. ThisWorkbook

Let me explain it with a simple analogy, so, be with me for the next 2 minutes.

You have two workbooks open at the same time (Book1 and Book2). You are writing code in book1 but book2 is active at this point. So when you run that code which refers to the ActiveWorkbook it will perform that activity in Book2.

But when you use the ThisWorkbook VBA always refers to the workbook where code is being written.

Here’s the thing: It’s always preferable to use the ThisWorkbook because it eliminates the chances of any error.

More on VBA Workbooks

VBA Save Workbook | VBA Close Workbook | VBA Delete Workbook | VBA Rename Workbook | VBA Activate Workbook | VBA Combine Workbook | VBA Protect Workbook (Unprotect) | VBA Check IF a Workbook is Open | VBA Open Workbook | VBA Check IF an Excel Workbook Exists in a Folder| VBA Create New Workbook (Excel File)

• VBA Workbook

“We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge.” – John Naisbitt

This post provides a complete guide to using the VBA Workbook.

If you want to use VBA to Open a Workbook then check out Open Workbook

If you want to use VBA to create a new workbook go to Create New Workbook

For all other VBA Workbook tasks, check out the quick guide below.

A Quick Guide to the VBA Workbook

The following table provides a quick how-to guide on the main VBA workbook tasks

Task	How to
Access open workbook using name	Workbooks(«Example.xlsx»)
Access open workbook (the one opened first)	Workbooks(1)
Access open workbook (the one opened last)	Workbooks(Workbooks.Count)
Access the active workbook	ActiveWorkbook
Access workbook containing VBA code	ThisWorkbook
Declare a workbook variable	Dim wk As Workbook
Assign a workbook variable	Set wk = Workbooks(«Example.xlsx») Set wk = ThisWorkbook Set wk = Workbooks(1)
Activate workbook	wk.Activate
Close workbook without saving	wk.Close SaveChanges:=False
Close workbook and save	wk.Close SaveChanges:=True
Create new workbook	Set wk = Workbooks.Add
Open workbook	Set wk =Workbooks.Open («C:DocsExample.xlsx»)
Open workbook as read only	Set wk = Workbooks.Open («C:DocsExample.xlsx», ReadOnly:=True)
Check Workbook exists	If Dir(«C:Docsbook1.xlsx») = «» Then MsgBox «File does not exist.» EndIf
Check Workbook is open	See Check Workbook Open section below
List all open workbooks	For Each wk In Application.Workbooks     Debug.Print wk.FullName Next wk
Open workbook with the File Dialog	See File Dialog section below function below
Save workbook	wk.Save
Save workbook copy	wk.SaveCopyAs «C:Copy.xlsm»
Copy workbook if closed	FileCopy «C:file1.xlsx»,«C:Copy.xlsx»
SaveAs workbook	wk.SaveAs «Backup.xlsx»

VBA Workbook Webinar

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Getting Started with the VBA Workbook

We can access any open workbook using the code Workbooks(“Example.xlsm“). Simply replace Example.xlsm with the name of the workbook you wish to use.

 
The following example shows you how to write to a cell on a worksheet. You will notice we had to specify the workbook, worksheet and range of cells.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub WriteToA1()

    ' Writes 100 to cell A1 of worksheet "Sheet1" in MyVBA.xlsm
Workbooks("MyVBA.xlsm").Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1") = 100

End Sub

 
This example may look a little be confusing to a new user but it is actually quite simple.

The first part up to the decimal point is the Workbook, the second part is the Worksheet and the third is the Range. Here are some more examples of writing to a cell

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub WriteToMulti()

' Writes 100 to cell A1 of worksheet "Sheet1" in MyVBA.xlsm
Workbooks("MyVBA.xlsm").Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1") = 100

' Writes "John" to cell B1 of worksheet "Sheet1" in MyVBA.xlsm
Workbooks("MyVBA.xlsm").Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("B1") = "John"

' Writes 100 to cell A1 of worksheet "Accounts" in MyVBA.xlsm
Workbooks("MyVBA.xlsm").Worksheets("Accounts").Range("A1") = 100

' Writes the date to cell D3 of worksheet "Sheet2" in Book.xlsc
Workbooks("Book.xlsx").Worksheets("Sheet2").Range("D3") = "112016"

End Sub

 
You can see the simple pattern here. You can write to any cell in any worksheet from any workbook. It is just a matter of changing the workbook name, worksheet name and the range to suit your needs.

Take a look at the workbook part

Workbooks("Example.xlsx")

 
The Workbooks keyword refers to a collection of all open workbooks. Supplying the workbook name to the collection gives us access to that workbook. When we have the object we can use it to perform tasks with the workbook.

Troubleshooting the Workbooks Collection

When you use the Workbooks collection to access a workbook, you may get the error message:

Run-time Error 9: Subscript out of Range.

This means that VBA cannot find the workbook you passed as a parameter.

This can happen for the following reasons

1. The workbook is currently closed.
2. You spelled the name wrong.
3. You created e new workbook (e.g. Book1) and tried to access it using Workbooks(“Book1.xlsx”). It’s name is not Book1.xlsx until it is saved for the first time.
4. (Excel 2007/2010 only) If you are running two instances of Excel then Workbooks() only refers to to the workbooks open in the current Excel instance.
5. You passed a number as Index and it is greater than the number of workbooks open e.g. you used Workbooks(3) and only two workbooks are open.

 
If you cannot resolve the error then use either of the functions in the section Finding all open Workbooks. These will print the names of all open workbooks to the Immediate Window(Ctrl + G).

Examples of Using the VBA Workbook

The following examples show what you can do with the workbook.

Note: To try this example create two open workbooks called Test1.xlsx and Test2.xlsx.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub WorkbookProperties()

    ' Prints the number of open workbooks
    Debug.Print Workbooks.Count

    ' Prints the full workbook name
    Debug.Print Workbooks("Test1.xlsx").FullName

    ' Displays the full workbook name in a message dialog
    MsgBox Workbooks("Test1.xlsx").FullName

    ' Prints the number of worksheets in Test2.xlsx
    Debug.Print Workbooks("Test2.xlsx").Worksheets.Count

    ' Prints the name of currently active sheet of Test2.xlsx
    Debug.Print Workbooks("Test2.xlsx").ActiveSheet.Name

    ' Closes workbook called Test1.xlsx
    Workbooks("Test1.xlsx").Close

    ' Closes workbook Test2.xlsx and saves changes
    Workbooks("Test2.xlsx").Close SaveChanges:=True

End Sub

 
 Note: In the code examples I use Debug.Print a lot. This function prints values to the Immediate  Window. To view this window select View->Immediate Window from the menu( Shortcut is Ctrl + G)

 

 

Accessing the VBA Workbook by Index

You can also use an Index number with Workbooks(). The index refers to the order the Workbook was open or created.

 
Workbooks(1) refers to the workbook that was opened first. Workbooks(2) refers to the workbook that was opened second and so on.

' First workbook that was opened
Debug.Print Workbooks(1).Name

' Third workbook that was opened
Debug.Print Workbooks(3).Name

' The last workbook that was opened
Debug.Print Workbooks(Workbooks.Count).Name

 
In this example, we used Workbooks.Count. This is the number of workbooks that are currently in the Workbooks collection. That is, the number of workbooks currently open. So using it as the Index gives us the last workbook that was opened

Using the index is not really useful unless you really need to know the order. For this reason, you should avoid using it. You should use the workbook name with Workbooks() instead.

Finding all Open Workbooks

Sometimes you may want to access all the workbooks that are open. In other words, all the items in the Workbooks() collection.

You can do this using the For Each loop.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub PrintWrkFileName()

    ' Prints out the full filename of all open workbooks
    Dim wrk As Workbook
    For Each wrk In Workbooks
        Debug.Print wrk.FullName
    Next wrk

End Sub

 
You can also use the standard For loop to access all the open workbooks

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub PrintWrkFileNameIdx()

    ' Prints out the full filename of all open workbooks
    Dim i As Long
    For i = 1 To Workbooks.Count
        Debug.Print Workbooks(i).FullName
    Next i

End Sub

 
For accessing workbooks, either of these Loops is fine. The standard For loop is useful if you want to use a different order or you need to use a counter.

Note: Both examples read in the order of the first opened to the last opened. If you want to read in reverse order(last to first) you can do this

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub PrintWrkFileNameIdxRev()

    ' Prints out the full filename of all open workbooks
    ' in reverse order.
    Dim i As Long
    For i = Workbooks.Count To 1 Step -1
        Debug.Print Workbooks(i).FullName
    Next i

End Sub

Open Workbook

So far we have dealt with workbooks that are already open. Of course, having to manually open a workbook before running a Macro, defeats the purpose of automating tasks. The Open Workbook task should be performed by VBA.

The following VBA code opens the workbook “Book1.xlsm” in the “C:Docs” folder

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub OpenWrk()

    ' Open the workbook and print the number of sheets it contains
    Workbooks.Open ("C:DocsBook1.xlsm")

    Debug.Print Workbooks("Book1.xlsm").Worksheets.Count

    ' Close the workbook without saving
    Workbooks("Book1.xlsm").Close saveChanges:=False

End Sub

 
It is a good idea to check a workbook actually exists before you try to open it. This will prevent you getting errors. The Dir function allows you to easily do this .

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub OpenWrkDir()

    If Dir("C:DocsBook1.xlsm") = "" Then
        ' File does not exist - inform user
        MsgBox "Could not open the workbook. Please check it exists"
    Else
        ' open workbook and do something with it
        Workbooks.Open("C:DocsBook1.xlsm")
    End If

End Sub

Check For Open Workbook

If you are opening a workbook as Read-Only, it doesn’t matter if it is already open. However, if you’re going to update data in a workbook then it is a good idea to check if it is already open.

The function below can be used to check if the workbook is currently open. If not, then it will open the workbook. In either case you will end up with the workbook opened.

(The code below is taken from this StackOverFlow entry.)

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Function GetWorkbook(ByVal sFullFilename As String) As Workbook
    
    Dim sFilename As String
    sFilename = Dir(sFullFilename)
    
    On Error Resume Next
    Dim wk As Workbook
    Set wk = Workbooks(sFilename)
    
    If wk Is Nothing Then
        Set wk = Workbooks.Open(sFullFilename)
    End If
    
    On Error Goto 0
    Set GetWorkbook = wk
    
End Function

You can use this function like this

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub ExampleOpenWorkbook()

    Dim sFilename As String
    sFilename = "C:DocsBook2.xlsx"

    Dim wk As Workbook
    Set wk = GetWorkbook(sFilename)
    
End Sub

This code is fine is most situations. However, if the workbook could be currently open in read-only mode or could be currently opened by another user then you may want to use a slightly different approach.

An easy way to deal this with this scenario is to insist that the file must be closed for the application to run successfully. You can use the function below to simply check is the file already open and if so inform the user that it must be closed first.

(The code below is also taken from this StackOverFlow entry)

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
' Function to check if workbook is already open
Function IsWorkBookOpen(strBookName As String) As Boolean
    
    Dim oBk As Workbook
    
    On Error Resume Next
    Set oBk = Workbooks(strBookName)
    On Error GoTo 0
    
    If Not oBk Is Nothing Then
        IsWorkBookOpen = True
    End If
    
End Function

 
An example of using this function is shown below. In this case, if the workbook is already open then you inform the user that is must be closed for the macro to proceed.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub ExampleUse()

    Dim sFilename As String
    sFilename = "C:tempwritedata.xlsx"

    If IsWorkBookOpen(Dir(sFilename)) = True Then
        MsgBox "File is already open. Please close file and run macro again."
        Exit Sub
    End If
    
    ' Write to workbook here
    
End Sub

 
If you need to check if the workbook is open in another instance of Excel you can use the ReadOnly attribute of the workbook. It will be set to true if it is open in another instance.

Close Workbook

To Close a Workbook in Excel VBA is very simple. You simply call the Close method of the workbook.

wk.Close

 
Normally when you close a workbook in VBA, you don’t want to see messages from Excel asking if you want to save the file.

You can specify whether to save the workbook or not and then the Excel messages will not appear.

' Don't save changes
wk.Close SaveChanges:= False

' Do save changes
wk.Close SaveChanges:= True

 
Obviously, you cannot save changes to a workbook that is currently open as read-only.

Save Workbook

We have just seen that you can save a workbook when you close it. If you want to save it any other stage you can simply use the Save method

wk.Save

 
You can also use the SaveAs method

wk.SaveAs "C:Backupsaccounts.xlsx"

 
The Workbook SaveAs method comes with twelve parameters which allow you to add a password, set the file as read-only and so on. You can see the details here.

 
You can also use VBA to save the workbook as a copy using SaveCopyAs

wk.SaveCopyAs "C:DocsCopy.xlsm"

Copy Workbook

Public Sub CopyWorkbook()
    FileCopy "C:DocsDocs.xlsm", "C:DocsExample_Copy.xlsm"
End Sub

Using the File Dialog To Open a Workbook

The previous section shows you how to open a workbook with a given name. Sometimes you may want the user to select the workbook. You can easily use the Windows File Dialog shown here.

 
 
The FileDialog is configurable and you can use it to

1. Select a file.
2. Select a folder.
3. Open a file.
4. “Save As” a file.

 
If you just want the user to select the file you can use the GetOpenFilename function.

 
The following function opens a workbook using the File Dialog. The function returns the full file name if a file was selected. If the user cancels it displays a message and returns an empty string.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Function UserSelectWorkbook() As String

    On Error Goto ErrorHandler

    Dim sWorkbookName As String

    Dim FD As FileDialog
    Set FD = Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogFilePicker)

    ' Open the file dialog
    With FD
        ' Set Dialog Title
        .Title = "Please Select File"

        ' Add filter
        .Filters.Add "Excel Files", "*.xls;*.xlsx;*.xlsm"

        ' Allow selection of one file only
        .AllowMultiSelect = False

        ' Display dialog
        .Show

        If .SelectedItems.Count > 0 Then
            UserSelectWorkbook = .SelectedItems(1)
        Else
            MsgBox "Selecting a file has been cancelled. "
            UserSelectWorkbook = ""
        End If
    End With

    ' Clean up
    Set FD = Nothing
Done:
    Exit Function
ErrorHandler:
    MsgBox "Error: " + Err.Description
End Function

 
When you call this function you have to check for the user cancelling the dialog. The following example shows you how to easily call the UserSelectWorkbook function and handle the case of the user cancelling

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub TestUserSelect()

    Dim userBook As Workbook, sFilename As String

    ' Call the UserSelectworkbook function
    sFilename = UserSelectWorkbook()

    ' If the filename returns is blank the user cancelled
    If sFilename <> "" Then
        ' Open workbook and do something with it
        Set userBook = Workbooks.Open(sFilename)
    End If

End Sub

 
You can customise the dialog by changing the Title, Filters and AllowMultiSelect in the UserSelectWorkbook function.

Using ThisWorkbook

There is an easier way to access the current workbook than using Workbooks(). You can use the keyword ThisWorkbook. It refers to the current workbook i.e. the workbook that contains the VBA code.

If our code is in a workbook call MyVBA.xlsm then ThisWorkbook and Workbooks(“MyVBA.xlsm”) refer to the same workbook.

 
Using ThisWorkbook is more useful than using Workbooks(). With ThisWorkbook we do not need to worry about the name of the file. This gives us two advantages:

1. Changing the file name will not affect the code
2. Copying the code to another workbook will not require a code change

 
These may seem like very small advantages. The reality is your filenames will change all the time. Using ThisWorkbook  means your code will still work fine.

 
The following example shows two lines of code. One using ThisWorkbook  and one using Workbooks(). The one using Workbooks will no longer work if the name of MyVBA.xlsm changes.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub WriteToCellUsingThis()

    ' Both lines do the same thing.
    Debug.Print ThisWorkbook.FullName
    Debug.Print Workbooks("MyVBA.xlsm").FullName

End Sub

Using the ActiveWorkbook

ActiveWorkbook refers to the workbook that is currently active. This is the one that the user last clicked on.

This can seem useful at first. The problem is that any workbook can become active by a simple mouse click. This means you could easily write data to the wrong workbook.

Using ActiveWorkbook also makes the code hard to read. It may not be obvious from the code which workbook should be the active one.

I hope I made it clear that you should avoid using ActiveWorkbook unless you really have to. If you must then be very careful.

Examples of the Accessing the Workbook

We’ve looked at all the ways of accessing a workbook. The following code shows examples of these ways

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub WorkbooksUse()

    ' This is a workbook that is already open and called MyVBA.xlsm
    Debug.Print Workbooks("MyVBA.xlsm").FullName

    ' The workbook that contains this code
    Debug.Print ThisWorkbook.FullName

    ' The open workbook that was opened first
    Debug.Print Workbooks(1).FullName

    ' The open workbook that was opened last
    Debug.Print Workbooks(Workbooks.Count).FullName

    ' The workbook that is the currently active one
    Debug.Print ActiveWorkbook.FullName

    ' No workbook mentioned - the active one will be used
    Debug.Print Worksheets("Sheet1").Name

    ' A closed workbook called Book1.xlsm in folder C:Docs
    Workbooks.Open ("C:DocsBook1.xlsm")
    Debug.Print Workbooks("Book1.xlsm").FullName
    Workbooks("Book1.xlsm").Close

End Sub

Declaring a VBA Workbook variable

The reason for declaring a workbook variable is to make your code easier to read and understand. It is easier to see the advantage of using an example

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub OpenWrkObjects()

    Dim wrk As Workbook
    Set wrk = Workbooks.Open("C:DocsBook1.xlsm")

    ' Print number of sheets in each book
    Debug.Print wrk.Worksheets.Count
    Debug.Print wrk.Name

    wrk.Close

End Sub

 
You can set a workbook variable with any of the access methods we have seen.

The following shows you the same code without a workbook variable

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub OpenWrkNoObjects()

   Workbooks.Open ("C:DocsBook1.xlsm")

   Debug.Print Workbooks("Book2.xlsm").Worksheets.Count
   Debug.Print Workbooks("Book2.xlsm").Name

    Workbooks("Book2.xlsm").Close

End Sub

 
In these examples the difference is not major. However, when you have a lot of code, using a variable is useful particularly for worksheet and ranges where the names tend to be long e.g. thisWorkbook.Worksheets(“Sheet1”).Range(“A1”).

You can name the workbook variable to be something like wrkRead or wrkWrite. Then at a glance you can see what this workbook is being used for.

Create New Workbook

To create a new workbook you use the Workbooks Add function. This function creates a new blank workbook. It is the same as selecting New Workbook from the Excel File menu.

 
When you create a new workbook you will generally want to save it. The following code shows you how to do this.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub AddWordbook()

    Dim wrk As Workbook
    Set wrk = Workbooks.Add

    ' Save as xlsx. This is the default.
    wrk.SaveAs "C:TempExample.xlsx"

    ' Save as a Macro enabled workbook
    wrk.SaveAs "C:TempExample.xlsm", xlOpenXMLWorkbookMacroEnabled

End Sub

 
When you create a new workbook it normally contains three sheets. This is determined by the property Application.SheetsInNewWorkbook.

 
If you want to have a different number of sheets in a new workbook then you change this property before you create the new workbook. The following example shows you how to create a new workbook with seven sheets.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub AddWordbookMultiSheets()

    ' Store SheetsInNewWorkbook value so we can reset it later
    Dim sheetCnt As Long
    sheetCnt = Application.SheetsInNewWorkbook

    ' Set sheets in a new workbook to be 7
    Application.SheetsInNewWorkbook = 7

    ' Workbook will be created with 7 sheets
    Dim wrk As Workbook
    Set wrk = Workbooks.Add

    ' Display sheet count
    Debug.Print "number of sheets: " & CStr(wrk.Worksheets.Count)

    ' Reset to original value
    Application.SheetsInNewWorkbook = sheetCnt

End Sub

The With keyword and the Workbook

The With keyword makes reading and writing VBA code easier. Using With means you only need to mention the item once. With  is used with Objects. These are items such as Workbooks, Worksheets and Ranges.

 
The following example has two Subs. The first is similar to code we have seen so far. The second uses the With keyword. You can see the code is much clearer in the second Sub. The keywords End With mark the finish of a section code using With.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
' Not using the With keyword
Public Sub NoUsingWith()

   Debug.Print Workbooks("Book2.xlsm").Worksheets.Count
   Debug.Print Workbooks("Book2.xlsm").Name
   Debug.Print Workbooks("Book2.xlsm").Worksheets(1).Range("A1")
   Workbooks("Book2.xlsm").Close

End Sub

' Using With makes the code easier to read
Public Sub UsingWith()

    With Workbooks("Book2.xlsm")
        Debug.Print .Worksheets.Count
        Debug.Print .Name
        Debug.Print .Worksheets(1).Range("A1")
        .Close
    End With

End Sub

Summary

The following is a brief summary of the main points of this post

1. To get the workbook containing the code use ThisWorkbook.
2. To get any open workbook use Workbooks(“Example.xlsx”).
3. To open a workbook use Set Wrk = Workbooks.Open(“C:FolderExample.xlsx”).
4. Allow the user to select a file using the UserSelectWorkbook function provided above.
5. To create a copy of an open workbook use the SaveAs property with a filename.
6. To create a copy of a workbook without opening use the FileCopy function.
7. To make your code easier to read and write use the With keyword.
8. Another way to make your code clear is to use a Workbook variables
9. To run through all open Workbooks use For Each wk in Workbooks where wk is a workbook variable.
10. Try to avoid using ActiveWorkbook and Workbooks(Index) as their reference to a workbook is temporary.

You can see a quick guide to the topic at the top of this post

Conclusion

This was an in-depth post about a very important element of VBA – the Workbook.  I hope you found it beneficial. Excel is great at providing many ways to perform similar actions but the downside is it can lead to confusion at times.

To get the most benefit from this post I recommend you try out the examples. Create some workbooks and play around with the code. Make changes to the code and see how the changes affect the outcome. Practice is the best way to learn VBA.

If you found this post useful then feel free to share it with others using the bar at the side.

What’s Next?

Free VBA Tutorial If you are new to VBA or you want to sharpen your existing VBA skills then why not try out the The Ultimate VBA Tutorial.

Related Training: Get full access to the Excel VBA training webinars and all the tutorials.

(NOTE: Planning to build or manage a VBA Application? Learn how to build 10 Excel VBA applications from scratch.)