{"id":6051,"date":"2017-03-20T13:21:17","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T12:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/?p=6051"},"modified":"2024-02-06T16:18:05","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T15:18:05","slug":"how-to-automatically-open-a-specific-workbook-when-you-start-excel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/how-to-automatically-open-a-specific-workbook-when-you-start-excel\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Automatically Open A Specific Workbook When You Start Excel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This is a guest post from <strong>John MacDougall<\/strong>. \u00a0John is an Excel enthusiast and runs the website <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.howtoexcel.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">How To Excel<\/a><\/span><\/span> in his spare time. You can connect with him on his <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.howtoexcel.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Website<\/a><\/span><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/howtoexcelblog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Facebook<\/a><\/span><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/howtoexcelblog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Twitter<\/a><\/span><\/span> or on <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/john-macdougall\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>If you work with Excel on a daily basis then chances are you are working with the same <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/free-excel-templates-and-spreadsheets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"spreadsheets\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">spreadsheets<\/a> each day.<\/p>\n<p>If you use the same file each time you open up Excel, then it might be easier for you to <strong>set up the file to automatically open every time you start Excel<\/strong> rather than opening it from a <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/microsoft-365\/download-office\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"windows\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">windows<\/a> file explorer each time.<\/p>\n<p>When Excel installs, it creates a folder called <strong>XLSTART<\/strong> and any files that you save in there will open up automatically when you start Excel.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_57_1 counter-flat ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/how-to-automatically-open-a-specific-workbook-when-you-start-excel\/#Step_1_Find_The_Path_Of_Your_XLSTART_Folder\" title=\"Step 1: Find The Path Of Your XLSTART Folder\">Step 1: Find The Path Of Your XLSTART Folder<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/how-to-automatically-open-a-specific-workbook-when-you-start-excel\/#Step_2_Open_the_XLSTART_Folder_With_Your_File_Explorer\" title=\"Step 2: Open the XLSTART Folder With Your File Explorer\">Step 2: Open the XLSTART Folder With Your File Explorer<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/how-to-automatically-open-a-specific-workbook-when-you-start-excel\/#Step_3_Add_Your_Files_To_The_XLSTART_Folder\" title=\"Step 3: Add Your Files To The XLSTART Folder\">Step 3: Add Your Files To The XLSTART Folder<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_1_Find_The_Path_Of_Your_XLSTART_Folder\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Step 1:<\/span> Find The Path Of Your XLSTART Folder<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-001-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-1.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"How To Automatically Open A Specific Workbook When You Start Excel\"  class=\"size-full wp-image-6207 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-001-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-1.png\" alt=\"How To Automatically Open A Specific Workbook When You Start Excel\" width=\"959\" height=\"552\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-001-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-1.png 959w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-001-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-1-300x173.png 300w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-001-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-1-768x442.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 959px) 100vw, 959px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">We can find the location of the XLSTART folder from Excel&#8217;s Option menu!<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>1. Go to the <strong>File<\/strong> tab in the ribbon.<\/p>\n<p>2. Select <strong>Options<\/strong> from the menu.<\/p>\n<p>3. Select <strong>Trust Center<\/strong> from the <em>Excel Options<\/em> menu.<\/p>\n<p>4. Press the <strong>Trust Center Settings<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-002-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-1.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"How To Automatically Open A Specific Workbook When You Start Excel\"  class=\"size-full wp-image-6208 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-002-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-1.png\" alt=\"How To Automatically Open A Specific Workbook When You Start Excel\" width=\"1007\" height=\"521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-002-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-1.png 1007w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-002-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-1-300x155.png 300w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-002-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-1-768x397.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1007px) 100vw, 1007px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Copy the file path of your XLSTART folder!<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>1. Select <strong>Trusted Locations<\/strong> from the Trust Center menu.<\/p>\n<p>2. Find and <strong>select<\/strong> the <strong>XLSTART<\/strong> folder in your list of trusted locations.<\/p>\n<p>3. The description should say <strong>Excel StartUp<\/strong>. \u00a0My file path is\u00a0<strong>C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Office 15\\root\\office15\\XLSTART<\/strong> but yours may be different.<\/p>\n<p>4. Press the <strong>Modify<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n<p>5.<strong> Highlight and copy<\/strong> the path in the pop up window using <strong>Ctrl + C<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>6. Press the <strong>Cancel<\/strong> button in the pop up window to exit without changing any settings.<\/p>\n<p>7. Press the <strong>Cancel<\/strong> button to exit the <em>Trust Center<\/em>\u00a0and press <strong>Cancel<\/strong> again to exit the <em>Excel Options<\/em> window.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_2_Open_the_XLSTART_Folder_With_Your_File_Explorer\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Step 2:<\/span> Open the XLSTART Folder With Your File Explorer<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-003-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel1.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"How To Automatically Open A Specific Workbook When You Start Excel\"  class=\"size-full wp-image-6210 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-003-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel1.png\" alt=\"How To Automatically Open A Specific Workbook When You Start Excel\" width=\"815\" height=\"504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-003-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel1.png 815w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-003-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel1-300x186.png 300w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-003-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel1-768x475.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 815px) 100vw, 815px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Open your file explorer and navigate to the XLSTART folder!<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>1. Click the <strong>folder icon<\/strong> on your taskbar to open the file explorer.<\/p>\n<p>2. Paste the file path of your XLSTART folder into the address bar of the file explorer using <strong>Ctrl + V<\/strong>\u00a0then press <strong>Enter<\/strong> to navigate to this location.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_3_Add_Your_Files_To_The_XLSTART_Folder\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Step 3:<\/span> Add Your Files To The XLSTART Folder<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-003-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-2.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"How To Automatically Open A Specific Workbook When You Start Excel\"  class=\"size-full wp-image-6211 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-003-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-2.png\" alt=\"How To Automatically Open A Specific Workbook When You Start Excel\" width=\"792\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-003-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-2.png 792w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-003-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-2-300x182.png 300w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Step-003-How-To-Automatically-Open-A-Specific-Workbook-When-You-Start-Excel-2-768x465.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 792px) 100vw, 792px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now that you know the path of the <strong>XLSTART<\/strong> folder you can save or drag and drop in any files you want and these files will automatically open when you start Excel.<\/p>\n<p>I like to <strong>make <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/333-excel-shortcuts-for-windows-and-mac\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"shortcuts\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">shortcuts<\/a> of the files and place these in this folder<\/strong> so that the file is actually saved elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>1. Open a second\u00a0file explorer and navigate to the file you want to add to the XLSTART folder and <strong>right click<\/strong> on the file you want add.<\/p>\n<p>2. Select <strong>Create <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/333-excel-shortcuts-for-windows-and-mac\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"shortcut\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">shortcut<\/a><\/strong> from the menu.<\/p>\n<p>3.<strong> Cut and paste<\/strong>\u00a0or <strong>drag and drop<\/strong> this shortcut into the <strong>XLSTART folder<\/strong> opened in <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Step 2<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now the next time you open up a blank Excel workbook, it will automatically open the workbook within the XLSTART folder.<\/p>\n<p>This is such a great tip and one that I have implemented today! \u00a0Thanks <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.howtoexcel.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">John MacDougal from HowToExcel.org<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0for this time saver!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a guest post from John MacDougall. \u00a0John is an Excel enthusiast and runs the website How To Excel in his spare time. You can connect with him on his Website, Facebook, Twitter or on LinkedIn. If you work with Excel on a daily basis then chances are you are working with the same [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cos_headline_score":0,"cos_seo_score":0,"cos_headline_text":"","cos_headline_has_been_analyzed":false,"cos_last_analyzed_headline":[],"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7,10],"tags":[62],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6051"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}