Creating and Opening Workbooks

Excel files are called workbooks. Each workbook holds one or more worksheets (also known as "spreadsheets").

Watch the video to learn how to create and open a workbook.

To Create a New, Blank Workbook:

1. Click the File tab. This takes you to Backstage view.
2. Select New.
3. Select Blank workbook under Available Templates. It will be highlighted by default.
4. Click Create. A new, blank workbook appears in the Excel window. 
   
   • To save time, you can create your document from a template, which you can select under Available Templates. We will talk more about this in a later lesson.

     To Open an Existing Workbook:

   1. Click the File tab. This takes you to Backstage view.
   2. Select Open. The Open dialog box appears. 
      
   3. Select your desired workbook and then click Open.
   • If you have opened the existing workbook recently, it may be easier to choose Recent from the File tab instead of Open to search for your workbook.