Many Excel users who have been using Excel for years might not know it has a backstage view. It is more popular with the name of File Tab options. It is the area where you manage your workbooks and settings. You can also access backstage view when you open Excel Application without opening an file directly. It is the first view you get when you open Excel.
You can see in the above screenshot that this window has the option to start working in Excel. But it’s called backstage view because it starts at the back when you work in Excel. And to open it while working, you need to click on the File Tab on your Excel Window.
Simply put, this view of Excel stays at the back, and you need to go to it from the File tab.
If you are using Excel on Mac, you will have the same backstage view where you can manage all your workbooks and have the Excel options to use.
And if you want to open it back, you need to go to File New.
Keyboard Shortcut
If you are working in Excel and you want to open the backstage view, you can use the keyboard shortcut: Alt + F
Close the Backstage View
To close the backstage view, you just need to press the ESCAPE key from your keyboard or you can also click on the back button from the top of the Window.
Option Available on Backstage View
You might be using it less than other options, but the backstage view or the File Tab has many options you can use while working in Excel. It is where you can access the Excel Options or Preferences.
- Info: This shows you information about the current workbook, including properties, permissions, and version history.
- New: This option allows you to open a new blank workbook from or you can use available template to create a new workbook.
- Open: From here, you can open recent workbooks, browse for files on your computer or access files from locations like OneDrive.
- Save: Saves the current workbook. If it’s a new workbook, it will show you a dialog box to specify a location and file name.
- Print: From here, you can open the print preview and then use all the available options to for printing your worksheet and the entire workbook.
- Share: This allows you to share your workbook with others using cloud (OneDrive), email and as a PDF file.
- Export: here you have an option to share your file as a PDF or and XPS format. This is also a quick way to convert your file from workbook to a PDF.
- Publish: It has options if you want to publish your workbook to Power BI and share with other users over there.
- More: To open the Excel Options and Account Information.
Options That are Super Useful
The above options will remain even if you haven’t opened a workbook. But once you open the workbook, you will get more options.
You can open a new blank workbook at the top of the window. You can also use some predefined templates that are available in Excel.
The “Recent Files” section helps you quickly find and open the recently opened files. You can click the File tab and then select Open. You’ll see a list of your recently used workbooks.
You can also pin important files to this list by clicking the pushpin icon next to the file name. This way, they stay on the top to open in a single click.
If you want to remove a file from the list, right-click on it and choose Remove from list.
To save files to OneDrive, open the workbook you want to save, then click the File tab to enter the Backstage View. Select Save As, choose OneDrive from the list of locations, and then pick your OneDrive.
Browse to the folder where you want to save the file or create a new folder, enter a name for your file, and click Save.
And when you save a file to the OneDrive, it activates the autosave options (which you can turn off if you want) and helps you have a file automatically saved with changes you make.
From the backstage view, you can also access the “Files Need Attention” which helps you to clear the cache from the Excel Application.