How to get a list of last or current opened Excel files?
This article introduces methods for quickly getting the list of recently opened or currently opened Excel files.
| Feature | Excel Recent Workbooks | Kutools Navigation Pane |
|---|---|---|
| Shows recently opened files | ✔ | ✘ |
| Shows currently open workbooks | ✘ | ✔ |
| Lists worksheets | ✘ | ✔ |
| Switch between workbooks | Open from the Recent list | One-click switching |
| Updates automatically | Updates after files are opened | Updates as workbooks are opened or closed |
| Additional setup required | No | Enable the Navigation Pane |
| Best for | Reopening recently used workbooks | Managing multiple workbooks during the current Excel session |
| Ease of use | Very easy | Easy and more powerful |
To get the list of last opened Excel workbooks, you only need to go to the Open section in Excel. Enable Excel, click File > Open > Recent (or Recent Workbooks), then all the last opened workbooks have been listed. 
If you have opened multiple workbooks at a time, you may want to get the list of the names of these opening workbooks. In Excel, there is no built-in function that can handle this job, but with Kutools for Excel – a professional Excel add-in, its Navigation Pane will list all opened workbooks.
1. Click Kutools > Navigation to enable the Navigation Pane.
2. Then in the popped Navigation pane, click Workbook & Sheet icon, then all current opened workbooks have been listed.
Also, the Navigation utility can list all sheets of the current workbook and allows you to toggle between workbooks or sheets. Click here to know more about the Navigation utility.
Conclusion
Excel's Recent Workbooks feature is a quick and convenient way to reopen files you've worked on recently. However, it only displays files that were previously opened and cannot show which workbooks are currently open.
If you regularly work with multiple Excel files at the same time, Kutools for Excel's Navigation Pane is the better choice. It automatically lists every open workbook and worksheet, keeps the list updated in real time, and lets you switch between workbooks with a single click, making workbook management much faster and more efficient.
Merge worksheets into one
Provides several methods on quickly combining multiple worksheets into one
Search in multiple sheets or workbooks
Usually, you can use the Find and Replace function to find a word in a sheet or workbook, but in this artcile, it provides various methods on search a value across sheets and workbooks.
Compare two worksheet
In this article, it provides the methods on comparing two sheets in same workbook or different workbooks, listing the differences between two sheets, or highlighting the differences between two sheets.
Export sheets as new workbook
This artcile gives you some easy ways to quickly save and export single sheet as a new workbook.
Best Office Productivity Tools
Supercharge Your Excel Skills with Kutools for Excel, and Experience Efficiency Like Never Before. Kutools for Excel Offers Over 300 Advanced Features to Boost Productivity and Save Time. Click Here to Get The Feature You Need The Most...
Office Tab Brings Tabbed interface to Office, and Make Your Work Much Easier
- Enable tabbed editing and reading in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access, Visio and Project.
- Open and create multiple documents in new tabs of the same window, rather than in new windows.
- Increases your productivity by 50%, and reduces hundreds of mouse clicks for you every day!
All Kutools add-ins. One installer
Kutools for Office suite bundles add-ins for Excel, Word, Outlook & PowerPoint plus Office Tab Pro, which is ideal for teams working across Office apps.
- All-in-one suite — Excel, Word, Outlook & PowerPoint add-ins + Office Tab Pro
- One installer, one license — set up in minutes (MSI-ready)
- Works better together — streamlined productivity across Office apps
- 30-day full-featured trial — no registration, no credit card
- Best value — save vs buying individual add-in