I used to dread sharing my screen during meetings because my Excel spreadsheets were a mess of raw data. I’d spend forever hiding columns and zooming in, only to have to undo it all later. Then I found custom views—a “save state” that toggles between layouts in just two clicks.
The problem: The reformatting loop
Picture this: you’re two minutes away from a meeting, but the Excel worksheet you want to present has dozens of columns with irrelevant data, messy filters, and a zoom level set to 70%.
To make this presentable for a screen share, you have to perform what I call the reformatting loop. This involves hiding or grouping columns, clearing the existing filters and applying appropriate ones, and bumping the zoom up to 140% so people can actually read the numbers.
Then, after the meeting, you have to unhide or ungroup everything, re-filter or re-sort certain columns, and reset your zoom. If you do this several times a day, you’re wasting time on Excel housekeeping, and it’s easy to forget your default settings.
Related
Don’t Hide and Unhide Columns in Excel—Use Groups Instead
Conceal and reveal different levels of detail with this useful Excel tool.
The solution: Custom views
Luckily, Excel has a tool that makes this process much easier: custom views. A custom view stores six key things:
- Column and row visibility: Which columns and rows are hidden, and which ones are visible.
- Filter and sort settings: Your active filters and any specific column sorting.
- Zoom percentage: Whether you’re at a birds-eye 70% zoom or a presentation-ready 140% zoom.
- Cell selection: The specific cell or range you had selected at the time you set up the view.
- Window settings: The exact position of your scroll bar and any frozen panes.
- Print settings: Page orientations, margins, and specific print areas.
These views are saved within the workbook itself, so you only need to set them up once.
Custom views are worksheet-specific. However, the Custom Views menu lists all views for the entire workbook in one place. If you select a view from another sheet, Excel jumps straight to that tab and applies the saved settings.
The essential first step: Create your standard view
The biggest mistake people make when they first discover custom views in Excel is building the meeting view first. If you do that, you’ll have no way to quickly undo your changes. This is why you must first create a standard view that acts as your default.
Think of this as your work layout—everything is visible, the zoom is comfortable for typing, and no filters are hiding your data. Then, select cell A1 (or wherever you usually start working), and in the View tab, click “Custom Views.”
In the dialog box, click “Add.”
Give your default view an appropriate name, like Standard view, ensure both checkboxes are checked, and click “OK.”
The next step: Create your meeting view
Now that you have a view of your Excel worksheet that acts as your safety net, it’s time to create the view that you’ll actually use when you share your screen.
This is where you strip away the clutter and focus on what your audience needs to see. Hide any sensitive data, filter and sort columns to display the relevant info, adjust the zoom for optimal viewing on a shared screen, and scroll to and select the cell or cells where you want to begin your discussion.
Then, follow the same steps as when you created your standard view:
- Click View > Custom Views > Add.
- This time, name it Meeting view.
- Click “OK.”
You now have two distinct states for your workbook, and you can repeat this process to create more if needed.
Related
6 Ways to Make Your Excel Spreadsheet Easy to Read
Six tried and tested ways to show off your spreadsheet.
Toggling between views (the fast way)
Now that your Excel spreadsheet views are set up, you can switch between them instantly. Yes, you could click “Custom Views” in the View tab, and double-click the view you want to display, but this can feel clunky. Instead, add a button to your Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) to make this process seamless.
First, click the down arrow at the far right of your QAT, and select “More Commands.”
If you can’t see the QAT, right-click anywhere on the ribbon and select “Show Quick Access Toolbar.”
Next, under the Choose Commands From menu, select “Commands Not in the Ribbon.” Then, scroll down to and select “Custom Views,” and click “Add.”
Finally, click “OK.”
You now have a simple drop-down menu at the top of your screen. One click opens the list, and a second click on a view name transforms your entire spreadsheet instantly.
You might be tempted to simply right-click the Custom Views button in the View tab and select “Add to Quick Access Toolbar.” However, doing this only adds a shortcut to open the dialog box—it doesn’t give you the fast drop-down menu we’ve created here.
Why is the Custom Views button grayed out?
If you’ve followed all the steps above in your Excel workbook but the Custom Views button is disabled (grayed out), you’ve likely run into one of Excel’s most frustrating limitations: custom views do not work if there’s a formatted Excel table anywhere in your workbook.
Here are two ways to fix this problem.
Fix 1: The modern alternative (use slicers)
If you don’t want to lose the power of Excel tables, don’t use custom views. Instead, use slicers—visual buttons that let you filter data instantly—to achieve at least some of the effects of the meeting view experience.
Select any cell inside the table, and in the Table Design tab, click “Insert Slicer.” Then, check the boxes for the columns you usually filter by, and click “OK.”
Just before your meeting starts, simply click the slicer buttons to clean up your view.
While slicers can’t hide columns or change your zoom level, they’re the best way to keep your table functionality while staying organized during a presentation.
Fix 2: The nuclear option (convert to range)
If you absolutely need the features of custom views, you need to convert your table back into a standard range. However, you’ll lose the many benefits that come with Excel tables, like automatic formatting for new rows, structured references in formulas, and dynamic data expansion.
Select any cell inside the table, and in the Table Design tab, click “Convert to Range.”
Then, click “Yes” when Excel asks you to confirm the conversion. Once converted, your data looks the same, but the Custom Views button instantly becomes clickable again.
Related
I Love Using Excel Tables, but I Wish Microsoft Fixed One Major Problem
There are solutions, but they’re not entirely ideal.
If you plan to send your workbook to others, either via a sharing link or by attaching it to an email, your custom views will travel with the file for them to use, so make sure you’ve selected the appropriate view first. Also, to ensure they don’t get lost in your data, make your spreadsheet easier to navigate by cleaning up tab names and adding a table of contents.
OS
Windows, macOS, iPhone, iPad, Android
Free trial
1 month
Microsoft 365 includes access to Office apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on up to five devices, 1 TB of OneDrive storage, and more.
