The Excel Start Screen
The screen you see before any file opens. It offers new files, templates and everything you worked on recently.
The Front Door
The Start screen is a menu, not a mistake. It gives you three choices: start something new, reopen something old, or begin from a ready made design.
- New — Blank or from a template
- Recent — Files you opened before
- Open — Browse to anything else
How to do it
File ▸ Home (or the screen that appears when Excel starts)
Do not like it? Turn it off at File ▸ Options ▸ General ▸ Show the Start screen when this application starts.
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| New | Blank workbook and templates |
| Recent | Your last 25 or so files |
| Pinned | Files you locked to the top |
| Open | Browse This PC or OneDrive |
The Three Areas
File ▸ Home ▸ New · Recent · Open
| Area | What it holds | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| New | Blank and templates | Starting fresh |
| Recent | Files you opened | Continuing work |
| Pinned | Files you locked | Daily files |
| Open | This PC and OneDrive | Finding anything else |
Result: Recent
Most of the time you want Recent — it is your last few files, already listed.
Do this
- Use Recent instead of browsing folders
- Pin the files you use daily
- Search the template box before building from scratch
Avoid
- Browsing folders when the file is already in Recent
- Ignoring templates and rebuilding common layouts
- Turning off the Start screen before you know what it does
📌 The Start screen is the same thing as File ▸ Home once a file is already open.
Practice
- Open Excel and look at your Recent list.
- Open a template from the New area.
- Close it without saving.
Quick quiz: You want the file you were working on yesterday. Where do you look first?
- New
- Recent
- Open ▸ Browse
Show answer
File ▸ Home ▸ Recent — Recent lists your last files already. Browsing folders is the slow way.
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