For a Very Hidden worksheet such as this one the setting is “2 – xlSheetVeryHidden”Īn unhidden worksheet will have a visibility value of -1 (“xl Sheet Visible”) a normally hidden worksheet will have a visibility value of 0 (“SheetHidden”). The visibility setting is the last property listed. Click on this worksheet and a list of Properties will pop up below.
Note the lurking worksheet called Downright Illegal Deals. Now, you’ll see allof the worksheets, by name, regardless of Hide level. If you have multiple files open, all of the files and their worksheets will be visible in the Projects window, so you might want to close any other Excel files while you do this, or hit the – sign to collapse each workbook in the Project window. In the Project window, you will see the Excel file listed as a “VBAProject” and each of its worksheets listed as Microsoft Excel Objects. Don’t panic! You won’t have to write any macros.Ī Project window and a Properties window will pop up. This will launch a new window called VB Editor. Perform the following steps: Right-click on any visible tab, but rather than choosing Unhide (it should be grayed out at this point), choose the option View Code. You have to dig deeper to find and expose the Very Hidden worksheet. Once you unhide it, Excel will not offer you any more worksheets to unhide the Unhide option is now grayed out. When you right-click on any of the tabs, you see the option to Unhide when you click on it, there is only one worksheet offered for unhiding.
In the default view you can see only the two unhidden worksheets: Perfectly Legal Deals and More Upstanding Deals In this example file (download it by clicking here) there are 4 worksheets: two unhidden worksheets, one that is hidden normally, and one that is Very Hidden.
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This level is called, in Microsoft’s parlance, “ Very Hidden” – keep reading to learn how to identify and unhide these worksheets. Typically, you can right-click on any tab name and you will see the Unhide option if there are any hidden worksheets. (More about that below) Any attorney reviewing Excel files–whether for an outgoing production, or as incoming evidence–must know how to identify and expose the hidden worksheets.īut there is a deeper, more sinister level of hiding that will not even trigger the Unhide option. Most experienced Excel users know how to find and unhide hidden worksheets in an Excel file.