Creating Workbooks from Scratch

If you can find a template that perfectly suits your needs, use it. However, if you're a die-hard do-it-yourselfer or if you have a custom workbook in mind, you might prefer (or need) to create a workbook from scratch. In such a case, you open a blank workbook and type the labels, values, dates, formulas, and functions yourself, as explained in Part II, "Creating Your First Worksheet."

Whenever you start Excel, it automatically opens a blank workbook, so you can start creating a workbook immediately. You can also create a new, blank workbook at any time by using the File, New command. Whenever you need a blank workbook, take the following steps to create it:

1. Open Excel's File menu and choose New . The New Workbook task pane appears.

2. Under New , click Blank Workbook , as shown in Figure 3.7. Excel creates a new, blank workbook, named Book#, where # is the next workbook number. (When Excel starts, it opens Book1. If you create a second blank workbook, it is named Book2. A third is named Book3, and so on.)

   Figure 3.7. You can start a workbook from scratch by creating a blank workbook.

   

Tip

To open a new, blank workbook with a single click, click the New button on the far left end of the Standard toolbar.