How to get the active workbook location/path in Excel?
Sometimes, you may open multiple workbooks at the same time, and you may forget the workbooks’ locations, and now I will introduce the methods to get the active workbook location/path in Excel.
Get workbook location with formulas
Get workbook location with VBA
Get workbook location with Kutools for Excel 
Open containing folder with Kutools for Excel
Get workbook location with formulas
In Excel, you can get workbook location with formula.
Select a cell and select one of below formulas and paste it into the cell, and press Enter key to get the location.
To get workbook location
=LEFT(CELL("filename",A1),FIND("[",CELL("filename",A1))-1)
To get workbook location and workbook name
=SUBSTITUTE( LEFT(CELL("filename",A1),FIND("]",CELL("filename",A1))-1),"[","")
To get workbook location, workbook name and active worksheet name
=CELL("filename",A1)
Notes: If you have never saved active workbook before, the first two formulas will return #VALUE! errors, while the formula =CELL("filename",A1) will return blank.
Get workbook location with VBA
If you want to try to get workbook location with VBA, you can do as below:
1. Enable the workbook, and press Alt + F11 keys to enable Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window, then click Insert > Module to display a Module window.
2. Paste below VBA code to the Module window.
VBA: Show workbook location
Sub DisplayWorkbookPath()
MsgBox ActiveWorkbook.Path, vbInformation, "Workbook Path"
End Sub3. Click Run button, then a dialog pops out to show the workbook path for you.
Note: If you have never saved active workbook before, this VBA will throw out a blank dialog box. See screenshot:
If you want to show the workbook location and workbook name, you can use below VBA:
VBA: Show workbook location and workbook name
Sub DisplayWorkbookFullName()
MsgBox ActiveWorkbook.FullName, vbInformation, "Workbook Complete Path"
End SubGet workbook location with Kutools for Excel
With Kutools for Excel’s Insert Workbook Information utility, you can get the workbook location and then insert it into a cell you need.
| Kutools for Excel, with more than 300 handy Excel functions, enhance your working efficiency and save your working time. | ||
After free installing Kutools for Excel, please do as below:
1. Select a cell you want to insert workbook location, and click Kutools Plus > Workbook > Insert Workbook information. See screenshot:
2. In the Insert Workbook Information dialog, check the information option you need to insert in Information section, and then you also can specify to insert the information at cell, header or footer in Insert at section.
3. Click Ok. Now the information you selected has been inserted.
Note: If active workbook has never been saved before, this utility will return the text of “This workbook never saved”.
Click here to know more about Insert Workbook Information.
Insert Workbook Information
Open containing folder with Kutools for Excel
If you want to pop out the folder which containing the current workbook, you also can apply Open Containing Folder of Kutools for Excel.
After free installing Kutools for Excel, please do as below:
Activate the workbook you want to open its folder, and click Kutools Plus > Workbook > Open Containing Folder. See screenshot:
Then the folder containing active workbook is opened.
Open Containing Folder
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