When working in Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet programs, it’s good to make multiple copies of a workbook or worksheet. A few reasons to make these copies are:

  • If you need to create several revisions of the workbook/worksheet, make copies in case you need to revert to a previous version.
  • If you’re sending a workbook/worksheet for review, make a copy so you have the original to compare any changes.
  • If you’re worried about someone making unauthorized changes to your workbook/worksheet, send yourself a copy to let you know if anything was changed.
  • If your file accidentally gets deleted, you have a backup.

There are several ways to copy the information from a workbook or worksheet to a new or existing workbook. Below, we explain a few of them.

How to copy information from one worksheet to another in the same workbook

  • Open the workbook.
  • Click the worksheet containing the information you want to copy. For this example, we chose Sheet1.

For the remainder of this page, you need to know the difference between a worksheet and a workbook. For the details about each, please see our spreadsheet definition.

Although the steps below are for Microsoft Excel, they are similar in other spreadsheet programs.

  • How to copy information from one worksheet to another in the same workbook.

  • How to copy information from one worksheet to a different workbook.

  • How to copy an entire workbook.

  • Press Ctrl+A to select the entire worksheet, then press Ctrl+C to copy the information.

  • Click the worksheet where you want to paste the information. For this example, we chose Sheet2.

  • Press Ctrl+V to paste the previously-copied information.

How to copy information from one worksheet to a different workbook

  • Open the workbook containing information you want to copy.
  • Click the worksheet containing the information you want to copy. For this example, we chose Sheet1.

When copying all cells on a worksheet, you need to ensure cell A1 is selected or the information won’t paste correctly, or you get an error message.

  • Press Ctrl+A to select the entire worksheet, then press Ctrl+C to copy the information.
  • Open the spreadsheet containing the workbook and worksheet where you want to save the information. You can also create a new spreadsheet and worksheet.
  • Press Ctrl+V to paste the previously copied information.

How to copy an entire workbook

There are two ways to accomplish this task which are essentially making a copy of an existing workbook.

How to copy the entire workbook in the folder

  • Locate the folder containing your workbook. For example, we saved our workbook to the desktop.

  • Right-click the file and select Copy, or click the file and press Ctrl+C.

  • Right-click an empty spot on the desktop (or folder) and select Paste, or press Ctrl+V.

  • The document is saved with the previous name and adds “- Copy” to the end of the file name. You can right-click the new file and rename it if desired.

How to copy the entire workbook with the existing workbook open

  • Open the workbook.

  • In the Excel menu, click File.

  • Click Save As.

  • Choose the location where you want to save the new workbook (A).

  • Type a file name for the new workbook (B).

  • Click Save (C).

  • You now have two copies of the same workbook. If changes are made to the new workbook, they are only saved to the new workbook, not both.

  • How to create a spreadsheet.
  • How to create a computer file.
  • How to print grid lines in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
  • Create, delete, rename, copy, and move a worksheet in Excel.
  • Where can I find a template in Microsoft Excel?
  • See our spreadsheet definition for further information and related links.
  • Microsoft Excel help and support.