Excel’s Sheet View feature lets people sort and filter a shared worksheet without disrupting what other collaborators see. Temporary sheet views can accumulate during collaborative work, and you can exit or remove views you no longer need.
Exit a temporary Sheet View
- Open the workbook and select the affected worksheet.
- Open the View tab.
- Find the Sheet View controls.
- Select Exit to leave the current personal view and return to the default worksheet view.
Remove a saved Sheet View
Open the Sheet View list, select the view you no longer need, and use the available delete/remove control in your Excel version. Be sure you are deleting a Sheet View rather than worksheet data, a custom view, or an actual worksheet.
Why Sheet Views are useful
In a workbook stored where Excel supports coauthoring, Sheet Views allow one person to filter or sort data without changing the display for everyone else. A temporary view is useful for a quick private filter; naming a view makes sense when you want to return to that arrangement.
If the controls are unavailable
Sheet View support depends on the Excel version and workbook environment. Older perpetual Excel releases may not provide the same feature, and some workbook formats or storage locations can limit collaboration capabilities. Save the file in a supported modern Excel format and use a current Microsoft 365 build when collaboration is required.
Before deleting a named view in a shared workbook, confirm that it is yours or no longer needed. Removing a view changes the saved viewing configuration, not the underlying rows and columns, but it can still disrupt another person’s workflow.
What a “Temporary View” is
When you choose View > Sheet View > New and then sort or filter, Excel names the view Temporary View because it hasn’t been saved yet. Excel can also offer one when you sort or filter while other people are working in the file, asking whether to apply the change just for you or for everyone. Choosing “just me” creates a temporary view.
Exact steps for each task
| Task | Steps |
|---|---|
| Leave a view | View > Sheet View > Exit |
| Delete a view | View > Sheet View > Options, select the view, then Delete |
| Keep a temporary view | Click Temporary View in the Sheet View menu, type a name, and press Enter |
| Rename or duplicate a view | View > Sheet View > Options, then Rename or Duplicate |
| Switch views | Pick a view from the Sheet View menu, or choose Default to return to the main view |
How to tell a view is active
When a Sheet View is applied, an eye icon appears next to the worksheet tab name. Hover over it to see the view’s name. If you don’t see the eye, you’re looking at the default view.
Things to know before deleting
- Deleting a Sheet View removes only that saved sort and filter. Your data stays the same.
- Cell edits you make while in any view are saved to the workbook for everyone.
- Sheet Views appear only for the active worksheet, so check each sheet if a workbook has several.
- Sheet Views work in Excel for Windows, Mac, the web, and mobile once they’re created.
See Microsoft’s Create and manage Sheet Views in Excel page for the full reference.
Related: Add a word to all cells in Excel.
Related: Select multiple items from an Excel dropdown list.
Frequently asked questions
Why don’t I see the Sheet View options?
Sheet Views need a workbook saved to OneDrive or SharePoint and a Microsoft 365 version of Excel. Save the file to the cloud and check again.
Is a Sheet View the same as a Custom View?
No. Custom Views are an older feature that doesn’t work with coauthoring. Sheet Views are designed for shared workbooks.
For other Excel cleanup tasks, see how to format Excel cells.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.