Starting Microsoft Excel with a Different Working Folder (135474)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows 95
This article was previously published under Q135474

SUMMARY

When you run Microsoft Excel, the working folder (or the folder to which new files are saved by default) is the My Documents folder located on the drive to which you installed Microsoft Excel or Office.

Although you can change this default location by entering a new folder in the Default File Location box on the General tab in the Options dialog box, you cannot start Microsoft Excel with another working folder by using the Start In box in a shortcut for Microsoft Excel.

The following information describes how you can start Microsoft Excel with a working folder other than My Documents or the value set in the Default File Locations box.

MORE INFORMATION

To start Microsoft Excel with a different working folder, you can use the /p startup switch in the Target box in a shortcut for Microsoft Excel. This allows you to start with a different working folder depending on the shortcut you use to start Microsoft Excel. To set a different working folder for a shortcut for Microsoft Excel, do the following:

  1. Click the right mouse button on the shortcut you want to use to start Microsoft Excel with a different working folder. Note that the shortcut can be located on the desktop, in any folder, or on the Office Shortcut Bar.
  2. Click the Shortcut tab.
  3. Add the following to the end of the command line that appears in the Target box

    /p "<folder>"

    where <folder> is the folder that you want to be the working folder when you start Microsoft Excel from this shortcut.

    For example, to start Microsoft Excel with the working folder "c:\My Files", add the following to the end of the command line that appears in the Target box:

    /p "C:\My Files"

  4. Click OK.
When you double-click the shortcut to start Microsoft Excel, the working folder is now the folder that you specified using the startup switch in the shortcut. Note that this procedure does not change the value that appears in the Default File Location box in Microsoft Excel.

Additionally, if you delete the folder that appears in the Default File Location box in the Options dialog box in Microsoft Excel, the default value (the My Documents folder) appears again in this box when you close and then restart Microsoft Excel. This procedure works in Windows 95, Windows NT 3.51, and Windows NT 4.0. For additional information about starting Microsoft Excel with a different default folder, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

135395 OFF: Shortcut "Start In" Doesn't Change Default File Location

For additional information about using a startup switch for an application on the Office Shortcut Bar, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

134742 Office: Using Startup Switches for Programs on Shortcut Bar

REFERENCES

For more information about using the My Documents folder in Microsoft Excel, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text

default directories and folders

double-click the selected text, and then double-click "The Favorites folder and the My Documents folder" to go to the "The Favorites Folder And The My Documents Folder" topic.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/15/2005
Keywords:KB135474
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