When working with Excel, you might find the need to hide certain sheets to prevent other users from accessing or altering data. This tutorial shows you how to do just that using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code. VBA can help streamline your workflow by automating repetitive tasks such as hiding or showing sheets based on specific criteria or user actions.
Steps
Follow these steps to learn how to hide a sheet using VBA code:
1. Access the VBA Editor
Firstly, open Excel and press Alt + F11 on your keyboard to access the VBA editor.
2. Insert the VBA Code
In the VBA editor, locate the project for your current workbook, right-click on any existing module, or on the workbook object, choose Insert, and then click Module to create a new module. Paste the following code into the module to hide a specific sheet:
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 |
Sub HideSheet() Dim sheetName As String sheetName = "SheetToHide" ' Change to your sheet's name Sheets(sheetName).Visible = xlSheetHidden End Sub |
Replace “SheetToHide” with the actual name of the sheet you wish to hide.
3. Hide the Sheet Using VBA
To execute the code, press F5 or click on the Run button while you have the HideSheet macro selected. This will hide the sheet specified in the code.
If you need to hide multiple sheets, you can call the Sheets method with each sheet’s name like this:
|
1 2 3 4 |
Sub HideMultipleSheets() Sheets("Sheet1").Visible = xlSheetHidden Sheets("Sheet2").Visible = xlSheetHidden End Sub |
4. Protect the VBA Code from Being Altered
If you want to prevent others from un-hiding the sheet by changing the VBA code, you can password protect the VBA project. Go to the Tools menu in the VBA editor, select VBAProject Properties, and under the Protection tab, check “Lock project for viewing” and set a password.
5. Saving Your Workbook
Remember, to save your Excel workbook as a macro-enabled file with a .xlsm extension. This allows the VBA code to run when the workbook is opened next time.
Important Considerations
Visibility Types: In VBA, you might also come across xlSheetVeryHidden which not only hides the sheet but also prevents it from being shown through the Excel UI; only VBA code can unhide it.
Error Handling: It’s important to add error handling to your macros to deal with situations where the sheet might not exist, or the code is executed from a workbook that doesn’t contain the sheet you’re trying to hide.
At least one Sheet Visible: If you have two sheets, for example, “Sheet1” and “Sheet2”, using the HideMultipleSheets will result in an error. In this case create the third sheet, so at least one is visible when you run the code.
Full Code
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 |
Sub HideSheet() Dim sheetName As String sheetName = "Sheet1" ' Change to your sheet's name Sheets(sheetName).Visible = xlSheetHidden End Sub Sub HideMultipleSheets() Sheets("Sheet1").Visible = xlSheetHidden Sheets("Sheet2").Visible = xlSheetHidden End Sub |
Conclusion
Using VBA to hide sheets in Excel is a powerful way to keep your data secure and your spreadsheets uncluttered. By following the steps outlined above, you can automate the process of hiding any sheet in your workbook, making it accessible only through your VBA code.
Whether you’re working with sensitive data or simply organizing your workbook, this method ensures that your sheets are hidden exactly as you need them to be.