Open Excel file for reading with VBA without display

Question

I want to search through existing Excel files with a macro, but I don't want to display those files when they're opened by the code. Is there a way to have them open "in the background", so to speak?

Answer 1

Not sure if you can open them invisibly in the current excel instance

You can open a new instance of excel though, hide it and then open the workbooks

Dim app as New Excel.Application app.Visible = False 'Visible is False by default, so this isn't necessary Dim book As Excel.Workbook Set book = app.Workbooks.Add(fileName) ' ' Do what you have to do ' book.Close SaveChanges:=False app.Quit Set app = Nothing 

As others have posted, make sure you clean up after you are finished with any opened workbooks

Answer 2

If that suits your needs, I would simply use

Application.ScreenUpdating = False 

with the added benefit of accelerating your code, instead of slowing it down by using a second instance of Excel.