This blog was authored by Y. Karp. Visit www.ykarp.com for some light-hearted blogs from the same author.
Excel provides the user with the option to create an almost unlimited number of tabs in a workbook. This is great for enabling the user to spread out the data among different sheets, allowing for a more organized workbook. In a simple example, one sheet might contain the raw data, another might contain a chart or a graph, another might contain a series of lists, and so on and so forth.
The beauty of this system is that all your information is not concentrated on one sheet, making it much easier to identify different parts of the information you have stored in the workbook. You can even rename the tabs to suitably represent what is contained within.
The downside of having multiple tabs, though, is that you might find yourself searching the tab labels each time you want to switch from one tab to another. Lets say you updated your source data and now you want to check your pivot table to see if it looks correct. You might just end up scrolling from side to side searching for the Pivot Table tab. As the creator of this workbook, you may know where to find the relevant tab, but your user (or more importantly, your boss) may end up frustrated at not being able to find what he wants.
Fear not, a solution is at hand. There are a number of ways to make your Excel workbook more navigable. You could start by renaming your spreadsheet tabs to something that appropriately represents what is in each sheet, or you can rearrange the tabs so that related tabs appear next to each other. In Excel 2003 and later versions it is even possible to color-code the tabs to make it easier to find what you are looking for. Additionally, right clicking on the arrows to the left of the tabs displays a list of all of your tabs giving you yet another way to easily navigate to the desired worksheet in your workbook. But there is a more elegant method. Read on.
A nice feature Excel provides is the ability to make your workbook look more like a computer program than just a series of spreadsheets lumped together in one place. You can create buttons and hyperlinks that will zap you across from one spreadsheet in your workbook to another. You can even create links to other Excel spreadsheets or, in fact, any other document or web site that takes your fancy.
Taking this whole thing one step further, why not create a "home page" in your Excel workbook containing buttons and links to all of the relevant pages in the workbook. This way you can make the workbook behave like a computer program, allowing you to click buttons and skip from one page to another. Not only is it impressive, but it is also an efficient method of finding your way around. Another advantage of creating a system of buttons and links is that you can ensure that users only view the pages that they should see. You probably don’t want them viewing the masses of raw data or your pages that are still under development. Utilize the "hide tabs" feature and you can really make sure that the user is directed to only the pages you want them to see.
Think of your spreadsheet as an end-user tool. Create buttons and links to build a real package that enables you to more easily find what you are looking for.
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