Workbook VBA properties and actions

Working with workbooks is one of the most common actions when writing VBA code.  The following is a reference guide to for finding the right syntax.

Contents:

• Referencing workbooks by name
• Referencing workbooks by their status
• Referencing workbooks by when they were opened
• Assign a workbook to a variable
• Create new workbooks
• Opening workbooks
• Counting the open workbooks
• Saving workbooks
• Protect & unprotect workbooks
• Closing workbooks
• Using the active workbook

Referencing workbooks by name

'Reference a workbook by name
Workbooks("WorkbookName.xlsx").[other properties/actions]

Referencing workbooks by their status

'Reference the workbook in which the VBA code is
ThisWorkbook.[other properties/actions]

'Reference the active workbook
ActiveWorkbook.[other properties/actions]

Referencing workbooks by when they were opened

'Referencing the first workbook opened
Workbooks(1).[other properties/actions]

'Referencing the second workbook opened
Workbooks(2).[other properties/actions]

'Referencing the last workbook opened
Workbooks(Workbooks.Count).[other properties/actions]

Assign a workbook to a variable

'Assign a workbook to a variable
Dim Wk as Workbook
Set Wk = Workbooks("WorkbookName.xlsx")

Create new workbooks

'Create a new workbook
Workbooks.Add

'Assign a new workbook to a variable
Dim Wk as Workbook
Set Wk = Workbooks.Add

Opening workbooks

'Open a workbook
Workbooks.Open ("C:\FilePath\WorkbookName.xlsx")

'Open a workbook as read-only
Workbooks.Open ("C:\FilePath\WorkbookName.xlsx", ReadOnly:=True)

Counting the open workbooks

'Counting the open workbooks
Workbooks.Count

Saving workbooks

'Save a workbook
Workbooks("WorkbookName.xlsx").Save

'Save a workbook with a new name
Workbooks("WorkbookName.xlsx").SaveAs "C:\FilePath\NewWorkbookName.xlsx"

'Save a copy of the workbook
Workbooks("WorkbookName.xlsx").SaveCopyAs "C:\FilePath\NewWorkbookName.xlsx"

Protect & Unprotect workbooks

'Protect workbook without password
Workbooks("WorkbookName.xlsx").Protect

'Unprotect workbook without password
Workbooks("WorkbookName.xlsx").Unprotect

'Protect workbook with password
Workbooks("WorkbookName.xlsx").Protect "Password"

'Unprotect workbook with password
Workbooks("WorkbookName.xlsx").Unprotect "Password"

Closing workbooks

'Close without saving changes
Workbooks("WorkbookName.xlsx").Close False

'Close and save changes
Workbooks("WorkbookName.xlsx").Close True

Using the active workbook

'Activate a workbook
Workbooks("WorkbookName.xlsx").Activate

Save

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If you want to automate Excel and save time, my recommended resouces for learning VBA Macros are:

Books:

Excel 2016 Power Programming with VBA

Courses:

The Complete Excel VBA Course for Beginners