Search Multiple Worksheets

I usually work with a spreadsheet that contains as many as 24 worksheets. When I do a search using the Find command, I have to repeat the command for each worksheet. Is there a way to command Find to search all the worksheets in one swoop?

Yes, not only can Find search all the worksheets in a file, it also can search across multiple worksheets. However, for a worksheet to be available for a search, it has to be open (as indicated by its color, as shown below). In the example below, Sheets 1, 3 and 5 are open.

“Wait a minute,” you say, “I can’t get more than one sheet open at a time.”

Here’s where a little Microsoft “sleight of hand” comes in handy. If you want all the sheets in a file to be opened, highlight the tab at either end; then, while holding down the Shift key, click the tab at the other end. To open just selected sheets, hold down the Ctrl key and click on the tabs of the sheets you want open.

Once you’ve got the target sheets opened, click on Find . To find them one at a time, click on Find Next . To find them all in one swoop, click on Find All , as shown in the screenshot below.