E-mail a Single Worksheet

Q: What is the easiest way to send a single Excel worksheet to a staff member without sending him or her the entire workbook?

A: You can send a single worksheet (that is, not the entire workbook) from within Excel using the integrated Outlook Send this Sheet applet, as follows:

1. Launch the E-Mail dialog box tool as follows: Excel 2003—Select File, Send to, Mail Recipient (for Review). Excel 2007 and 2010—To access the E-Mail dialog box in Excel 2007 and 2010, you must first add the tool to your Quick Access Toolbar. To do this, right-click on the Quick Access Toolbar and select Customize Quick Access Toolbar. In the Choose commands from: dropdown box, select Commands Not in the Ribbon. Scroll down and select Send to Mail Recipient, and click the Add>> button to include this command on your Quick Access Toolbar. Click OK. Click the Send to Mail Recipient icon on the Quick Access Toolbar.

2. In the E-mail dialog box, select the radio button labeled Send the current sheet as the message body, and click OK.

3. This action will create an e-mail using the worksheet contents as the e-mail message. Indicate the e-mail recipients and subject as you would normally when preparing an e-mail message and click Send this Sheet.

The Send this Sheet menu is integrated with Outlook so that the To…, Cc…, and Bcc… dropdown fields will display the contacts and contact groups you maintain in Outlook. Once the e-mail is sent, a copy appears in your Sent Items box, similar to that of a regular e-mail.

Cautionary note 1: When using the Send the current sheet as the message body option, the Excel data is converted from an Excel format into a table format containing only values. To send a single worksheet with the Excel formulas intact, make a copy of the workbook, delete all of the worksheets except for the one you intend to send, and repeat the steps above using the Send the entire workbook as an attachment option.

Cautionary note 2: Note that this approach does not provide the full functionality of Outlook; for example, this method does not automatically insert your default signature block.

Cautionary note 3: This functionality works well with Outlook, but does not necessarily work with other e-mail client applications.

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