How to unhide multiple sheets & make sheets invisible

In the last few days I’ve been asked a few questions by work colleagues regarding the visibility of sheets:

This cell references a sheet, why I can’t find the sheet?
Is it possible to unhide multiple sheets at the same time?

So, let’s take a look the process of hiding, unhiding and making sheets invisible.

Basic hiding and unhiding sheets:

You are probably familiar with the process of hiding and unhiding sheets.

Right-click the tab at the bottom and select “Hide” to hide a sheet.

To unhide right click on a worksheet tab at the bottom, select Unhide from the menu. A list of hidden sheets will appear, click the sheet you wish to unhide, then click OK.

Or you could go through the ribbon:

Home -> Cells -> Format -> Hide & Unhide -> Unhide Sheet

Applying to multiple sheets

If you want to hide multiple sheets you can use Shift or Ctrl to select a range of sheets or specific sheets. Then right-click on one of the selected tabs and select Hide.

However, unhiding multiple sheets isn’t so easy. In fact, there isn’t a method in Excel to do it. So that means you have to go through one by one, or you can use a little bit of VBA.

Insert the following code into the Visual Basic Editor

Sub AllSheetsVisible()

'Create a variable to hold the worksheet

Dim Ws As Worksheet

'Loop through each worksheet in the Worksheets collection of the 
'active workbook and set it to visible

For Each Ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets

Ws.Visible = xlSheetVisible

Next Ws

End Sub

If you wanted to adapt the code to hide worksheets you could replace the following code. As there must be at least one visible worksheet, there is an Error Handler, so that the last visible sheet will not be hidden.

Sub AllSheetsHidden()

'This code does not actually hide all sheets, as there must be 
'at least one visible sheet. The code will hide all except the last sheet.

'Create a variable to hold the worksheet

Dim Ws As Worksheet

'Loop through each worksheet in the Worksheets collection of the 
'active workbook and set it to visible.

For Each Ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets

'If there is an error do not hide the sheet

On Error Resume Next

Ws.Visible = xlSheetHidden

On Error Goto 0
Next Ws

End Sub

Invisible Sheets

It is possible to have sheets which are neither visible nor hidden, these sheets are invisible (or “very hidden” as Excel calls it). This is the reason my colleague had a formula reference to a sheet which they couldn’t find, the sheet was invisible.

Worksheets in Excel can have 3 states of visibility: Visible, Hidden and Very Hidden.

Visible = You can see the worksheet
Hidden = You can’t see the worksheet, but it is listed as a hidden workbook
Very Hidden = You can’t see the worksheet and it is not listed as a hidden workbook (i.e. it is “invisible”, unless you use VBA or the VBA Editor)

To make a sheet Invisible use you can replace this line of code:

Ws.Visible = xlSheetHidden

With this one:

Ws.Visible = xlSheetVeryHidden

Changing the status of a single sheet

If you know the names of your worksheets you can change their visibility status by using their individual sheet names in the VBA code.

Sub ChangeSheetVisiblity

Activeworkbook.Sheets(“[Insert Sheet Name]”).Visible = xlVeryHidden

End Sub

About the author

Hey, I’m Mark, and I run Excel Off The Grid.

My parents tell me that at the age of 7 I declared I was going to become a qualified accountant. I was either psychic or had no imagination, as that is exactly what happened. However, it wasn't until I was 35 that my journey really began.

In 2015, I started a new job, for which I was regularly working after 10pm. As a result, I rarely saw my children during the week. So, I started searching for the secrets to automating Excel. I discovered that by building a small number of simple tools, I could combine them together in different ways to automate nearly all my regular tasks. This meant I could work less hours (and I got pay raises!). Today, I teach these techniques to other professionals in our training program so they too can spend less time at work (and more time with their children and doing the things they love).

Do you need help adapting this post to your needs?

I'm guessing the examples in this post don't exactly match your situation. We all use Excel differently, so it's impossible to write a post that will meet everybody's needs. By taking the time to understand the techniques and principles in this post (and elsewhere on this site), you should be able to adapt it to your needs.

But, if you're still struggling you should:

Read other blogs, or watch YouTube videos on the same topic. You will benefit much more by discovering your own solutions.
Ask the 'Excel Ninja' in your office. It's amazing what things other people know.
Ask a question in a forum like Mr Excel, or the Microsoft Answers Community. Remember, the people on these forums are generally giving their time for free. So take care to craft your question, make sure it's clear and concise. List all the things you've tried, and provide screenshots, code segments and example workbooks.
Use Excel Rescue, who are my consultancy partner. They help by providing solutions to smaller Excel problems.

What next?
Don't go yet, there is plenty more to learn on Excel Off The Grid. Check out the latest posts: