How to Make a Copy of an Excel Sheet

Excel has become one of the most important tools for work these days. This tool is specifically designed for numerical tasks, especially for collecting data and analyzing data, creating reports, or other tasks. Aside from calculating numbers, Excel also has a crucial role in managing many types of information and keeping the data intact and organized. Therefore, the excel skill is very useful nowadays, including how to make a copy of an excel sheet. This article will learn about several instructions on how to make a copy of an excel sheet or other similar platforms, along with the reasons why making a copy of an excel sheet is essential for our daily work.  

Why is making a copy of an Excel sheet important? 

No wonder making a copy of an Excel sheet is important. This process is quite useful these days due to the necessity of making another similar file for another project or other tasks. A copy of an existing excel sheet will simplify the process rather than making the excel sheet format from scratch. Therefore, you need to know how to make a copy of an excel sheet, especially if your work is related to numbers or reports. Here is the importance of making a copy or duplicate of an excel sheet. 

• Data protection: A copy of the existing Excel sheet will give you a chance to back up the data. Therefore, this is important for protecting the original data if there is an accidental action, such as hacking, a cyberattack, or other hardware problems. This allows you to recover the data easily from the backup excel sheet. 

• Recovery from error: While doing data processing, there is a chance of mistakes. In order to avoid the error, you should copy the original excel sheet as a backup template. This allows you to recover the data from some errors and keep away from doing it from scratch. 

• Data sharing: With a copy of the original sheet, you can share it with others by using the copy sheet. You do not need to share the original version to make the original data still intact and ease the work to make other similar excel sheets from the beginning. 

• Tracking the versions: Creating a copy of an excel sheet allows you to track the version of your file, such as original, revised, and others. You can compare those sheets and make progress out of them. 

• Experiment with data: Creating a copy sheet will help you do new calculations or make a graph as an experiment for research without worry. You do not need to enter the bulk of data from the beginning in excel. If the data is altered, you can use a duplicate from the original version instead.

From this explanation, we can see that making a copy of an excel sheet is indispensable for doing tasks in Microsoft Excel or other similar tools. The copy of an excel sheet will help you to ensure the accuracy, protection of the data, and allow the user to be able to flexible while making changes in the excel sheets without worry. 

How to make a copy of an excel sheet in the Microsoft Excel web or online version

After knowing how importance of how to make a copy of an excel sheet, you might be wondering about the instructions and methods to do that in Microsoft Excel. As we know, Microsoft Excel is used broadly for making reports or other things related to numbers, data collection, or non-numerical tasks. Here is the list of instructions on how to make a copy of an excel sheet in Microsoft Excel. 

How to make a copy of an excel sheet using Copy Sheet feature

If you are using the online version of Microsoft Excel, you can find two easy ways to copy an excel sheet. One of them is by using the Copy Sheet feature. Here is the step-by-step instruction on how to duplicate an excel sheet using the Copy Sheet feature. 

• Step 1: Open the file that you need to edit using the Microsoft Excel online version on your browser. 
• Step 2: After the file opens, you can tap right-click the Sheet. 
• Step 3: It will open the pop-up menu and click the Copy Sheet. 
• Step 4: Afterwards, the copy sheet will automatically appear in the first row of the sheets. 

How to make a copy of an excel sheet using the Duplicate feature

Another easy way to copy an excel sheet in Microsoft Excel is by using the duplicate option. This option is only available in the Microsoft Excel web or online version. This method is very simple and quite similar to using the Copy Sheet option. Here is the step-by-step instruction on how to make a copy of an excel sheet using the Duplicate feature. 

• Step 1: Open a certain workbook file that you want to change in the Microsoft Excel web version. 
• Step 2: Once the file opens, you can tap right-click on the Sheet.
• Step 3: Then, it shows the pop-up menu and clicks the Duplicate option. 
• Step 4: The new sheet will automatically open in the first row of the sheets. 

The two ways for making a copy of an excel sheet in the Microsoft Excel web version are very easy, right? The two methods are identical to each other; therefore, you can use them interchangeably and use them based on your preference. 

How to make a copy of an excel sheet in the Microsoft Excel desktop

Even though Microsoft Excel web versions and desktop versions are similar, these two versions are different. At first glance, the two versions are identical, but if you take a look at the menu is quite different. The difference also applied to the features on how to make a copy of an excel sheet. This is the list of how to make a copy of an excel sheet in the Microsoft Excel desktop version. 

How to make a copy of an excel sheet using Drag and Drop 

Even though the web version is becoming more popular, the usage of the Microsoft Excel desktop version is quite common, especially for Windows users. This is because Microsoft Excel for desktop offers a high-quality and full-featured version rather than the web version. For those of you who use Microsoft Excel for desktop, the easy way to copy an excel sheet is using the Drag and Drop feature. Here is the step-by-step instruction. 

• Step 1: Open the workbook file that you want to edit using Microsoft Excel for desktop. 
• Step 2: Select the sheet and hold the Ctrl or Option key for Mac users at the same time.
• Step 3: Drag the selected sheet and change the position to another tab in the same workbook. 
• Step 4: Release the cursor, and the copy of an excel sheet will be located in a new sheet.  

How to make a copy of an excel sheet using Move or Copy 

Aside from Drag and Drop, Microsoft Excel for desktop offers a different way to make a copy of an excel sheet using the Move or Copy option. This feature is similar to Duplicate and Copy Sheet in Microsoft Excel for the web. Here is the step-by-step instruction on how to make a copy of an Excel sheet using Move or Copy. 

• Step 1: Open the workbook file that you want to edit in Microsoft Excel for desktop. 
• Step 2: Please select one of the sheets you want to make a copy of and press right-click. The pop-up menu will appear, and choose the Move or Copy option. 
• Step 3: You will be directed to the new menu and choose the selected sheet. Click the box below and Ok. 
• Step 4: The copy of the original sheet will appear in a new sheet in the same workbook in Microsoft Excel for desktop. 

The two methods of how to make a copy of an excel sheet in Microsoft Excel for desktop is different. However, the two methods are simple and easy to use. You can use them based on your preference and how familiar while using either of Drag and Drop or Move or Copy features. 

How to make a copy of an excel sheet in another Microsoft Excel desktop workbook

Not only copy in the same workbook, but Microsoft Excel also allows you to copy a sheet from one workbook to another workbook. This feature is important to help you organize the data without copying and pasting the data one by one from one workbook to another workbook. Here is the instruction on how to make a copy of an excel sheet in another Microsoft Excel for desktop workbook. 

• Step 1: Please open two workbooks that you need to edit on your computer if using Microsoft Excel for desktop. 
• Step 2: Select one of the sheets from one workbook that you want to copy to another workbook. Right-click the selected sheet. 
• Step 3: Once the pop-up menu opens, click the Move or Copy option. The dialog box from the Move or Copy option will appear. 
• Step 4: Please use to book dropdown option and select the specific workbook for the destination. The workbook can be a new file as well. 
• Step 5: Check the Create a copy checkbox and click OK. Then, the copy of an excel sheet will appear in another workbook. 

The method for copying an Excel sheet to another workbook is quite similar to making a copy of a sheet in the same workbook using Move or Copy in Microsoft Excel for desktop. Unfortunately, this option is only applicable for the desktop version because the web version does not have this feature. This is one of the advantages of using Microsoft Excel for desktop rather than the online or web version. However, if you want to copy your file to another workbook in the Microsoft Excel web version, you can still use manual copy and paste. Please note that it has a risk of losing some formatting and formulas from the original version. 

Conclusion

How to make a copy of an Excel sheet in Microsoft Excel does not require a complicated formula. This process can be done in either use Microsoft Excel desktop or the web version, and it only requires a basic understanding of Excel features. Even though the desktop and online versions are quite similar, the two versions are different in terms of features to make a copy of an excel sheet. Therefore, you need to know what Microsoft Excel you commonly use for your daily tasks. Then, choose one of the methods above that you are comfortable with and that you think is easiest to use. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about how to make a copy of an excel sheet

1. What is the easiest way to make a copy of an excel sheet in the Microsoft Excel online or web version? 

The two ways for making a copy of an excel sheet in the Microsoft Excel web or online version are similar. Therefore, using either the Copy Sheet or the Duplicate menu is easy. You can use it by clicking the sheet menu and choosing either Copy Sheet or Duplicate, then it will appear on the left side of the original sheet.  

2. What is the easiest method to make a copy of an excel sheet in the Microsoft Excel desktop version? 

The easiest way to make a copy of an excel sheet in Microsoft Excel for desktop by using Drag and Drop. This feature is quick and easy, only by clicking on a certain sheet and dropping it on the selected new sheet, and it will appear directly. 

3. Are the features to make a copy of an excel sheet in Microsoft Excel for desktop and web versions different? 

Yes, the two versions have different features, especially in making a copy of an excel sheet. Microsoft Excel for web offers Duplicate and Copy Sheet options, while Microsoft Excel for desktop offers Move or Copy and Drag and Drop features. 

4. Is there any risks of losing the format if we do the manual copy and paste excel sheet? 

Yes, there are risks of losing the format and formula when doing the manual copy and paste. The best option to copy an excel sheet in the same workbook and a different workbook are to use the features from Microsoft Excel, including Duplicate, Copy Sheet, Move or Copy, and others. 

5. Is there any way to duplicate an Excel sheet multiple times in Microsoft Excel? 

Yes, by using features in Microsoft Excel online, such as Duplicate or Copy Sheet. These are how to duplicate an excel sheet multiple times, only by clicking these options as many times as you need to copy the excel sheet.