Show Excel Custom View Name

Show Excel Custom View Name

To save time when printing reports, you can save filter and print setting in Custom Views. Unless, of course, your workbook contains a Named Excel table – you can’t use Custom Views in those files.

Here’s the dimmed out Custom Views command on the Ribbon, when the workbook contains a Named Excel Table.

dimmed out Custom Views command
dimmed out Custom Views command

Set Up Custom Views

A couple of years ago, I outlined the steps for creating Custom Views in Excel, and switching between views.

switching between Custom views
switching between Custom views

Also, I shared a few Custom View tricks, such as creating different headers and footers for each view.

creating different headers and footers
creating different headers and footers

Show the View Name

After you select a view, there’s no built-in feature that lets you show its name on the worksheet. You could add programming, so the name is automatically entered in a specific cell.

But, perhaps you’d rather not use macros, or your client doesn’t want macros in the workbook. There’s good news! You can use a bit of filtering, and a couple of formulas, to show the name of the selected view.

In the screen shot below, the view named “ALL” is showing, and its name is in cell H1.

Custom View Name on worksheet
Custom View Name on worksheet

Video: Show Custom View Names

Watch this video to see the steps for setting up the Custom Views, and switching between the view.

You’ll also see the steps for creating the worksheet formulas to show the Custom View name.

And remember, Custom Views only work in Excel workbooks that do not have any named Excel tables.

Download the Sample File

To see how the Custom View filters and formulas work, you can download the sample file from my Contextures website.

On the Sample Files page, go to the Filters section, and look for FL0026 – Save Filter Settings in Custom Views.
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3 thoughts on “Show Excel Custom View Name”

  1. Custom Views are the best feature that MS ever (effectively) deprecated. At some stage I intend to write an add-in to bring this functionality back to table-using users.

  2. Hi Debra,
    Very nice trick! Thanks for sharing.
    Just a little comment on the Index and Match. I think we don’t need to use MATCH in your example as they are actually in sequential ascending order, right?
    Cheers,
    MF

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