Excel 2019 Bible

Chapter 3: Performing Basic Worksheet Operations

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Keep in mind that a longer worksheet name results in a wider tab, which takes up more
space on-screen. Therefore, if you use lengthy sheet names, you won’t be able to see as
many sheet tabs without scrolling the tab list.

Changing a sheet tab color

Excel allows you to change the background color of your worksheet tabs. For example,
you may prefer to color-code the sheet tabs to make identifying the worksheet’s contents
easier.

To change the color of a sheet tab, choose Home ➪ Cells ➪ Format ➪ Tab Color, or right-
click the tab and choose Tab Color from the shortcut menu. Then select the color from the
color palette. You can’t change the text color, but Excel will choose a contrasting color to
make the text visible. For example, if you make a sheet tab black, Excel will display white
text.

If you change a sheet tab’s color, the tab shows a gradient from that color to white when
the sheet is active. When a different sheet is active, the whole tab appears in the selected
color.

Rearranging your worksheets

You may want to rearrange the order of worksheets in a workbook. If you have a separate
worksheet for each sales region, for example, arranging the worksheets in alphabetical
order might be helpful. You can also move a worksheet from one workbook to another and
create copies of worksheets, either in the same workbook or in a different workbook.

You can move a worksheet in the following ways:

■ (^) Right-click the sheet tab and choose Move or Copy to display the Move or Copy dia-
log box (see Figure 3.4). Use this dialog box to specify the location for the sheet.
■ (^) From the Ribbon, choose Home ➪ Cells ➪ Format ➪ Move or Copy Sheet. This shows
the same dialog box as the previous method.
■ (^) Click the worksheet tab and drag it to its desired location. When you drag, the
mouse pointer changes to a small sheet icon, and a small arrow indicates where the
sheet will be placed when you release the mouse button. To move a worksheet to a
different workbook by dragging, both workbooks must be visible.
Copying the worksheet is similar to moving it. If you use one of the options that shows the
Move or Copy dialog box, select the Create a copy check box. To drag and create a copy, hold
down the Ctrl key while you drag the worksheet tab. The mouse pointer will change to a
small sheet icon with a plus sign on it.