Tip of the Day | Wednesday 21 October 2026

This tool temporarily sets Excel's default folder to the location of your current workbook.

As a result, when you use Excel's classic Open (Control+F12) or Save (Alt+F2 or F12) dialogs, they will start in this folder, making it quicker to open or save related files without browsing through folders.

It's useful when:

• Working in project-specific folders and subfolders
• Opening related files from the same folder when multiple workbooks are open.

Important to know:

• This setting is temporary. Excel will use this folder until you open or save a file from a different location, after which Excel updates its working folder automatically.
• This works with Excel's classic Open/Save dialogs (not the modern Backstage view).
• It does not change Excel's permanent default file location setting (File > Options > Save > Default local file location)

By default, you can launch this tool using the Control+Alt+E shortcut.

Tip:
Regardless of this setting, Alt+F2 or F12 always uses the classic Save As dialog, and Control+F12 always uses the classic File Open dialog.
If you prefer the classic Windows-style Open and Save dialogs also for the other shortcuts, you can use the following setting in Excel:
1. Go to File > Options > Save
2. Enable "Don't show the Backstage when opening or saving files with keyboard shortcuts."

Starting this tool