XL2000: Cannot Move or Copy Sheet After Last Sheet

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This article was previously published under Q213604

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SYMPTOMS

When you run a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro that copies or moves a worksheet or a chart sheet after the last worksheet in the workbook, or if you attempt to do this manually, Microsoft Excel does not insert the copied or moved worksheet after the last worksheet in the workbook.

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CAUSE

This behavior occurs when the last worksheet in the workbook is hidden. This behavior is by design of Microsoft Excel.

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WORKAROUND

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To prevent this behavior from occurring, move all hidden sheets to the front in the order of sheet tabs in the workbook. To do this manually, unhide all hidden sheets, drag the sheet tabs to the left (in front of the other tabs), and then rehide the sheets.

To unhide a sheet, follow these steps:

On the Format menu, point to Sheet, and then click Unhide.
Click the name of the sheet you want to unhide and click OK.

To hide a sheet, follow these steps:

Activate the sheet.
On the Format menu, point to Sheet, and click Hide.

Alternatively, you can use the following Visual Basic for Applications macro to move all hidden sheets to the beginning of the workbook:

   Sub MoveHiddenSheets()
       For Each xSheet In ActiveWorkbook.Sheets
           If xSheet.Visible = False Then
               xSheet.Move Before:=Sheets(1)
           End If
       Next xSheet
   End Sub

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MORE INFORMATION

If Microsoft Excel, you can use the Copy and Move methods within a Visual Basic macro to copy or move sheets within a single workbook or to another workbook. You can also copy or move sheets by clicking Move or Copy Sheet on the Edit menu.

In versions of Microsoft Excel earlier than Excel 97, you can copy or move a sheet after the other sheets in the workbook programmatically by using one of the following commands in a macro:

   Sheets("Sheetname").Copy After:=Sheets(Sheets.Count)

   -or-

   Sheets("Sheetname").Move After:=Sheets(Sheets.Count)

In Microsoft Excel 2000, if you run a macro that contains either of these commands, and the last sheet in the workbook is hidden, the copied or moved sheet is not inserted at the end of the workbook. Instead, the sheet is moved to the right of the last visible sheet in the workbook.

The same behavior applies if you click Move or Copy Sheet on the Edit menu, click (move to end) and then click OK. In Microsoft Excel 2000, the copied or moved sheet is moved to the right of the last visible sheet in the workbook. In versions of Microsoft Excel earlier than Excel 97, the copied or moved sheet is moved to the end of the workbook.

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