Quick Links

• Set Up Your Homepage Worksheet

• Welcome Your Collaborator

• Add Hyperlinks to Key Worksheets

• Display the Next Key Date

• Tell People How the Workbook Works

• Let Coworkers Know Where They Can Get Help

• Include a Data Snapshot

• Hide the Column and Row Headings

Picture this: you've created a fully functional Microsoft Excel workbook, but when you share it with others, they're unsure where to begin. That's why you need a homepage worksheet that provides all the important information and links as soon as the file is opened.

By the end of this guide, you'll have a homepage worksheet looking something like this.

Set Up Your Homepage Worksheet

Before adding content to your homepage worksheet, take a few moments to format everything properly. Doing this early on will save you time later.

Start by reducing the width of all columns so you're not stuck with the default settings. This gives you more flexibility in positioning text or graphics. To do this, click the "Select All" button in the top-left corner of the worksheet and drag one of the column borders to make it narrower.

Next, reduce the width of column A even more to create a small margin between the edge of the workbook and your content.

Now, decide on a background color, font, and text size.

Click the "Select All" button again, and from the Home tab on the ribbon, choose a cell fill color, font, size, and font color. In my case, I've chosen a dark teal background with white text using the default font (Aptos) at 14pt.

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PostsNow that you've set up your worksheet, it's time to start adding content.

Welcome Your Collaborator

Your homepage worksheet should function like a website homepage—it should be inviting, and users should immediately understand what the file is for. The first two elements to add are a title and an introductory line.

Assuming you've created a margin column, type your welcoming title into cell B1, press Enter, and format it to stand out.

Next, determine how wide your homepage worksheet should be, ensuring visibility across different screen sizes. Select the range from B1 to the last column you'll use and click "Merge And Center" under the Home tab.

In cell B2, add a brief intro line that describes the workbook's purpose, and merge and center the cells as you did for row 1.

Add Hyperlinks to Key Worksheets

Although collaborators can switch between sheets using the tabs at the bottom of the Excel window, adding a navigation bar with links directly on the homepage makes it more user-friendly.

3 Ways to Insert Hyperlinks in Microsoft Excel It just makes things easier when you can click a link.

PostsI'll color cells B4 to E4 yellow, F4 to I4 light orange, J4 to M4 light green, N4 to Q4 light purple, and R4 to U4 red. I'll do this by selecting each range and choosing a fill color from the Home tab. I'll also merge and center each group of four cells to form larger cells.

Now, fill each colored cell in this menu bar with the names of the corresponding worksheet tabs. You may need to adjust the font color for readability, but final formatting can wait—we’ll handle that shortly.

Next, link each of these colored cells to their respective worksheets. Right-click the first cell and choose "Link," or press Ctrl K while the cell is selected.

In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, click "Place In This Document," select the relevant worksheet, and click "OK."

Repeat this for all links in the homepage navigation bar until the text appears blue and underlined.

The default hyperlink style (blue and underlined) might be hard to read. Select all the cells in the navigation bar, increase the font size, and ensure the text color complements the background. I also recommend removing the underline for a cleaner look.

Finally, test the links to ensure they direct users to the correct worksheet.

Display the Next Key Date

When designing a homepage worksheet, your main goal should be to highlight the most important information. In a corporate setting, displaying the next key deadline is essential.

As shown below, I've added a subheading, increased the font size, merged and centered the row across the entire width of the worksheet, and added a white border to the bottom of the merged cell.

Before adding the deadline details, I'll insert an appropriate icon via the Insert tab. This breaks up the text and caters to visual learners.

To do this, go to the Insert tab, click "Icons," and in the Stock Images dialog box, search for a keyword related to the icon you want. Select the desired icon and click "Insert."

Reposition and resize the icon, and change its color using the Graphics Format tab. Then, add the relevant text next to it to display the deadline details.

Rather than entering this manually, it's better to make it update automatically. On a separate worksheet, list all deadlines in chronological order in column A and provide details in column B.

Back on the homepage worksheet, select the cell where the next deadline date should appear and format it as a short date using the Home tab.

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PostsType the following formula:

<code>=MIN(FILTER(Deadlines!A:A,Deadlines!A:A>TODAY()))</code>

where Deadlines! refers to the sheet containing the deadlines and A:A is the column with the dates.

Press Enter, and the next upcoming deadline will appear. In my case, I've merged and centered cells G8 to J8 to make the date fit nicely.

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