How to open all files in a folder on startup

In this guide, we are going to show you how you can open all files in a folder on startup. Excel allows selecting a specific folder to open the files in it automatically when Excel starts. This can be a project or template folder, or just a folder on the network used for collaboration.

Steps

Let's take a look at the steps involved in opening all files in a folder on startup:

1. Open a new workbook or an existing workbook
2. Click on File in the Ribbon
3. Click on Options to activate Excel Options window
4. Activate the Advanced tab
5. Scroll down to the General section
6. Enter the path of your folder into the field next to At startup, open all files in:

Unfortunately, you need to enter the folder location as a string, since Excel doesn't have a file selection window for this feature. Fortunately, Windows 10 has a feature that allows us the copy the folder location as a text. Here is how:

1. Open the File Explorer and locate the folder that contains the files
2. While holding down the SHIFT key, right-click on the folder
3. Click on Copy as path

This will copy the path of the folder. You can now paste the folder path into the Excel Options to a startup folder.

Remarks

1. Excel opens only the files directly under the target folder, not those in the sub-folders.
2. Only Excel files are opened. Other file types will be ignored.