How to Copy an Excel Worksheet

Last Updated: July 24, 2015 Tested

If you have a worksheet that you have been working on for a long time and you need to copy it for another task, you can simply copy that worksheet so you do not have to do it all again from the ground up. Copying the worksheet is easy to do; to learn more, follow the steps below.

Steps

1
Open the Excel file with the worksheet you would like to copy. Simply locate the Excel file in your computer, and double-click the file to open it.
2
Click and hold the worksheet tab you would like to copy. The worksheet tab is at the bottom-left corner of the window. Once you click and hold the tab, you will see a blank document icon at the right side of the tab and a small triangle at the left side of the tab.
- The worksheet will be labeled depending what name you gave it before.
- If you did not label it, it will show as Sheet 1, Sheet 2, Sheet 3, and so on.
3
Hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard while still holding the mouse button. You will now see a plus (+) symbol on the middle of the blank document icon of the tab.
4
Drag the mouse to the right. Do this while still holding the mouse button and the Ctrl key. This will move the tab to a new position. Also, the small triangle will move to the right side of the worksheet tab.
5
Release the mouse button. Do not let go of the Ctrl key when letting go of the mouse button. You will now see a duplicate worksheet created. It will be labeled as “[Name of Worksheet] [2].”
6
Rename the duplicate worksheet. To do this, double-click the duplicate tab and it will be highlighted. Type the new name for the worksheet and then click on any cell on the middle of the screen to input the new name.