Excel VBA Get File Name: Workbook, Path, and Folder

In Excel VBA, use ThisWorkbook.Name for the name of the workbook containing the macro, or ActiveWorkbook.Name for the workbook currently active in Excel. To get only the filename from a full path, such as C:\Reports\Summary.xlsx, extract the text after the final backslash; the example below also handles forward slashes.

Private Function FileNameFromPath(ByVal fullPath As String) As String
    Dim separatorPosition As Long

    ' Use whichever kind of slash appears last in the path.
    separatorPosition = InStrRev(fullPath, "\")
    If InStrRev(fullPath, "/") > separatorPosition Then
        separatorPosition = InStrRev(fullPath, "/")
    End If

    FileNameFromPath = Mid$(fullPath, separatorPosition + 1)
End Function

The function returns the final path component, including its extension. For example, it returns Summary.xlsx from C:\Reports\Summary.xlsx. The right method depends on whether you need an open workbook’s name, a full path, or the name of a file the user selects.

Which file name do you need?

“Get the file name” can refer to several different values. VBA makes these distinctions useful because a filename alone is not enough to identify a file if other folders contain files with the same name.

Name: The workbook’s name, usually with its extension, such as Budget.xlsm.
Path: The folder containing a saved workbook, such as C:\Reports.
FullName: The workbook’s full location and name, such as C:\Reports\Budget.xlsm.
Base name: The name without its extension, such as Budget.

Choose the value that fits the task. Displaying a workbook label may require only Name. Opening a related file or writing a sibling file usually requires the folder path as well. If you store only a filename, remember that it does not reveal which folder the file is in.

Get the name of an open workbook

Excel’s Workbook object exposes the Name, Path, and FullName properties. Use ThisWorkbook when you mean the workbook that contains the VBA code. Use ActiveWorkbook when you mean the workbook the user has selected at that moment. These are not necessarily the same: a macro stored in a personal macro workbook or an add-in can operate on another active workbook.

This short macro prints both names to the Immediate window in the Visual Basic Editor. To open that window, press Ctrl+G in the editor on Windows. On Mac, use the Visual Basic Editor’s View menu to show the Immediate window. Save a copy of the workbook before running a macro; VBA changes cannot be undone with Ctrl+Z.

Public Sub ShowWorkbookNames()
    Dim macroBookName As String
    Dim activeBookName As String

    ' Identify the workbook containing this code and the active workbook.
    macroBookName = ThisWorkbook.Name
    If Not ActiveWorkbook Is Nothing Then
        activeBookName = ActiveWorkbook.Name
        Debug.Print "ThisWorkbook: " & macroBookName
        Debug.Print "ActiveWorkbook: " & activeBookName
    End If
End Sub

If both references point to the same workbook, their names match. If the code is in one workbook and another workbook is active, they can differ. For automation that must always target the file containing the code, prefer ThisWorkbook rather than relying on whichever workbook happens to be active.

Get the full path and handle unsaved workbooks

For a saved workbook, ThisWorkbook.FullName returns its full location and filename, while ThisWorkbook.Path returns the folder location. ThisWorkbook.Name returns only the workbook name. These properties refer to the workbook containing the code; use ActiveWorkbook instead if the intended target is the active workbook.

A new workbook that has not yet been saved has no folder path. In that situation, Path is an empty string, so code that combines the path with another filename can create an incomplete location. Check for this before using the path. Also distinguish an empty path from a workbook saved at a location: a workbook’s name may exist before its first save, but that does not mean it has a usable disk location.

One safe pattern is to test the path before building a file location. If the path is empty, ask the user to save the workbook or choose a different destination rather than assuming a default folder. A workbook saved to a network location can have a longer path than a local file, but the same properties are used.

Extract a filename from a full path

The FileNameFromPath helper in the opening example takes a path as text and returns the part after the last slash. Pass it a value such as ThisWorkbook.FullName to get the current macro workbook’s filename. It handles both Windows backslashes and forward slashes, which can appear in paths supplied by other systems.

For an existing local file, VBA’s Dir function can also return the final filename from a full path. For example, Dir$("C:\Reports\Summary.xlsx") returns Summary.xlsx when that file exists. The helper approach is more suitable when you simply need to parse a path string, even if you do not want to check whether the file exists. Dir is also used to search for files, and its search state can affect repeated calls, so avoid treating it as a general-purpose text parser in code that is enumerating a folder.

To remove an extension, locate the final period in the extracted filename and take the text before it. Be careful with names that contain multiple periods: Quarter.4.Report.xlsx has a base name of Quarter.4.Report, not Quarter. A filename can also have no extension, so code should check that a period was found before shortening the text. For more involved path manipulation, the Windows FileSystemObject provides methods such as GetFileName and GetBaseName; it can be created through VBA without adding a reference by using late binding.

Let the user choose a file

If the user needs to select a file, Application.GetOpenFilename displays Excel’s file-selection dialog and returns the selected path as text. It does not open the selected workbook. If the user cancels, it returns the Boolean value False, so check for cancellation before converting the result to a string or extracting a filename.

The following macro selects an Excel workbook and displays just its filename. It uses the helper function from the opening example, so place both procedures in the same standard VBA module. Save a copy of the workbook before running a macro; macro actions cannot be reversed with Ctrl+Z.

Public Sub ChooseWorkbookAndShowName()
    Dim selectedFile As Variant
    Dim selectedName As String

    ' Ask for a workbook; cancellation returns Boolean False.
    selectedFile = Application.GetOpenFilename( _
        FileFilter:="Excel files (*.xls*),*.xls*", _
        Title:="Select a workbook")

    If VarType(selectedFile) = vbBoolean Then Exit Sub

    selectedName = FileNameFromPath(CStr(selectedFile))
    MsgBox selectedName, vbInformation, "Selected file"
End Sub

The filter limits the dialog to matching Excel file extensions, but it does not guarantee that a selected file is valid or that VBA can open it. If you need to work with the selected workbook afterward, use a separate step to open it and handle possible errors, such as a file being moved or access being denied between selection and opening.

Get the folder, extension, or a sibling filename

When you need to create a file beside the current workbook, combine its folder with a new filename. First verify that the workbook has been saved and that Path is not empty. Then add the Windows path separator and the new name. This is different from using FullName, which already includes the existing workbook’s filename.

It is often useful to preserve the original extension when reporting a workbook name, because .xlsx, .xlsm, and other extensions indicate different file formats. A macro-enabled workbook should generally remain in a macro-enabled format if it is saved with VBA code; changing the extension by editing a text string does not convert the workbook’s contents or format.

For a file path supplied by an external source, avoid assuming that every path uses a particular separator or that every filename has an extension. Paths can be malformed, empty, or point to a folder rather than a file. Validate the input for the operation you plan to perform, and use the full path when different directories could contain duplicate names.

Common problems and practical safeguards

Using the wrong workbook reference: ActiveWorkbook can change as the user switches windows. Use ThisWorkbook for the workbook containing the code.
Expecting a path from Name: The name property omits the folder. Use FullName when the complete location is needed.
Handling cancellation as text: A cancelled GetOpenFilename call returns Boolean False. Test that result before passing it to a string function.
Assuming a new workbook is saved: An unsaved workbook has an empty Path. Check for it before constructing a location.
Confusing a filename with an existing file: Parsing a string does not prove that a file exists. Check or open the file separately when existence matters.

Macros may also be blocked by Excel’s macro security settings or by an organization’s policy. Only enable or run VBA from workbooks you trust. On Windows, the Visual Basic Editor is available with Alt+F11; on Mac, the editor can be opened from Excel’s Tools menu, though keyboard shortcuts can vary with macOS settings. Excel for the web does not run VBA macros, so use desktop Excel for these procedures.

Where to put and run the VBA

In Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, press Alt+F11 to open the Visual Basic Editor. Choose Insert > Module, paste the code into the new standard module, and run a public macro from the editor or Excel’s macro interface. If the workbook must retain the code, save it in a macro-enabled format such as .xlsm. Saving as a macro-free format can remove the VBA project.

On a Mac, open the Visual Basic Editor from Excel’s Tools menu and insert a standard module in the same way. The file picker and VBA object model are available in desktop Excel, but some platform-specific paths or dialog details can differ. Excel for the web can display a macro-enabled workbook, but it cannot run or edit VBA macros. Before running any macro that changes files or workbook contents, save a separate copy: Ctrl+Z does not undo VBA operations.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get the current Excel workbook’s filename in VBA?
Use ThisWorkbook.Name for the workbook containing the code. Use ActiveWorkbook.Name only when you specifically want the workbook currently active in Excel.

How do I get a filename without the folder path?
Use Workbook.Name for an open workbook, or pass a full path to a helper that returns the text after the last slash. For an existing local file, Dir can return the final filename component.

How do I get the full file path in Excel VBA?
Use ThisWorkbook.FullName for the workbook containing the macro. It includes both the folder location and the workbook name. Check ThisWorkbook.Path first if the workbook may not have been saved.

What is the difference between ThisWorkbook and ActiveWorkbook?
ThisWorkbook is the workbook that stores the running VBA code. ActiveWorkbook is the workbook currently active in the Excel window. They can refer to different workbooks.

How can I get the selected file’s name from a file dialog?
Use Application.GetOpenFilename, check whether its result is Boolean False because the user cancelled, and then extract the filename from the returned path. The dialog selects a file but does not open it.

Can VBA run in Excel for the web?
No. Excel for the web does not run VBA macros. Open the workbook in desktop Excel for Windows or Mac to use VBA.

Try it: the Column Letter to Number: aA is 27, XFD is 16,384. Converts both ways.

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Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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