A Complete Tour Of The File Tab - Backstage View Lesson-4 || Ashok TV Excel Easy & Free Tutorial

A COMPLETE TOUR OF THE FILE TAB - BACKSTAGE VIEW

Topics Covered in This Tutorial
1.File Tab-Backstage View Introduction	9.Export Button
2.Info Button	10.Publish Button
3.New Button	11.Close Button
4.Open Button	12.Account Button
5.Save Button	13.Feedback Button
6.Save As Button	14.Option Button
7.Print Button	15.Getting back to your Excel Sheet
8.Share Button

File Tab - Backstage View Introduction

In this lesson, we're going to take a tour of the File tab. The file tab is also sometimes referred to as "Backstage". Unlike the main stage where you do your work, the File menu is a place to go for tasks that don't involve working on your data - for example, Open, Save, sharing files, printing, and changing Excel settings.

This is the view that displays when Excel is first opened. If the File Tab is not active, click the File Tab to make it active. The options and categories under this view are explained in the below.

When you first start Microsoft Office 2010, 2013 or 2016 you'll be presented with the start page, which is Backstage view.

1. In an open Excel workbook, click on the File tab:

2. This will launch the Backstage view that opens on the Info page by default. 

1. The Back button – This will take you back to your worksheet and exit the Backstage view.

2. Backstage view tabs – These are all the different option areas for the Backstage view.

Click on these to navigate to different options.

Tip : Keyboard Shortcut for File Tab : Alt+F

Info Button

The info pane gives you access to workbook Permissions, Tools for preparing the workbook for sharing, and a way to get to previous versions of the file saved with Autosave. On the left side of the Info pane is file property information. This includes the date the file was created and last modified, as well as author information.

1.Name of your workbook: This area shows workbook name. If the workbook has no name yet, this will be Book1, Book2, etc.

2. Security and workbook sharing options: In this area shows workbook’s security and sharing options. you can use these to, for example, password protect a workbook.

3. If you want to recover a workbook, Go to Security area click the Manage Workbook button and click Recover Unsaved Workbooks. This will open a file browser dialog box from where you can select and open auto recovered workbooks.

4. Properties area : In this area provide you with useful information such as when the workbook was created, modified, by whom and  what is the File size etc.

       Tip : Keyboard Shortcut for Info Workbook : Alt+F+ I

New Button

1. To create a New file click the New button.

2.You can see and select template from a list of available Excel templates and use it.

3.You can also search for more templates in online from the box of search for online templates. To find, and download, more templates visit https://templates.office.com.

4.You can click the "Blank Workbook" template to start with a clean, blank Excel file.

TIP: Keyboard shortcut for New Workbook : Ctrl+N

Open Button

You may want to open a workbook that you created earlier or one that has been shared with you by another MS Office user

To open an existing workbook, click on the File tab to launch the Backstage view.

1. In the File tab Backstage view, click on Open. This will launch the Open section of the Backstage view and it is selected to default Recent locations, as shown in the screenshot above. I can separate three parts of this view for easy understanding purpose.

2. Workbook location: Select where the workbook you are looking for is saved. With Microsoft Office 2010,2013,2016 and 365 you can browse for worksheets that you used recently in your PC, that were shared with you via a Microsoft Online OneDrive account, your own cloud-based OneDrive account, documents hosted on a corporate SharePoint Server or on your traditional computer hard drive.

3. Locate the workbook in your preferred location and click to open, then your Excel file is open.

3. Recent and Pinned Workbooks: Recent and pinned workbooks are options that make it easy to find workbooks you used recently or ones you repeatedly need to access quickly. 

4.In this section displays workbooks in date order of when they were accessed, with Pinned workbooks always displayed at the top of the list.

5. Pinned Button:  A Pinned workbook is one that you use frequently, you will note pins which appear on the right-hand side of each worksheet, as shown in the screenshot above 

6.By clicking to the right of each worksheet in your Recent area, you can pin and unpin workbooks.  Once unpinned, the workbook will move down the Recent list and once pinned, it will move to the top of the list.

TIP: Keyboard shortcut for Open Workbook : Ctrl+O 

Save Button

Use this option to save a database when it is first created Workbook. Frequently saving workbooks is highly recommended. You can save a workbook to your local hard drive, your cloud-based OneDrive account or a corporate SharePoint space. You can also instruct Excel to save a workbook automatically at set intervals and recover unsaved workbooks.

To save a workbook:

1. In the workbook view, click on the File tab to launch the Backstage view. 

2. In the Backstage view, click on the Save button in the Backstage option list.

3. Depending on where you wish to save the workbook, select a Recent folder, your OneDrive account or your PC hard drive by navigating to a folder to save the workbook in.

4.It is recommended that you create folders and save workbooks in such a way that you are able to find them again. Should you forget where you saved your workbook, remember you can always use the Recent option in Open Pane to access it. 

5.If you have opened Blank Workbook, entered some data and Press Save Button it is asked to where to save and what the file name. Firs select location in your hard drive and give file name.

TIP-1: Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+S.

TIP-2 : If the workbook has already been saved, pressing Ctrl+S regularly whilst working on the workbook will ensure your work is saved and no data lost.

Tip-3 : To prevent any work from being lost, set the automatic save option in Excel. This option is explained in Option Button topic.

Save As Button

Select this option a dialogue box will be displayed asking for workbook name, location and workbook format. By default, it will save in Excel 2007 to  2016 format with extension .xlsx.

Select this option to save the workbook in a different format or different name or different locations in your PC.

Different Format: By default, Workbook will save in Excel-2007,2010,2013,2016 & 365 format with extension .xlsx. Using Save As option format change xlsx to PDF or XPS or CSV or XML formats.

For Example, Using the Save As option format change xlsx to xls (Excel 97-2003 format). It is standard format can be opened in Excel all versions.

Different File Name: Using Save As button, workbook file name changes to another name.

Different Locations: Using Save As button, workbook location change to another location in your hard drive.

Tip: Keyboard Shortcut for Save As : F12 or Alt + F + A

Print Button

1.The Print pane allows you to select a printer, and gives you access to the most commonly used settings for printing.

2.It also shows a large print preview area which makes it easy to see if current settings are correct.

3.You can follow the print settings order as shown in screenshot above and print Worksheet or Workbook

4.You can print entire or partial worksheets and workbooks, one at a time, or several at once. And if the data 5.that you want to print is in a Microsoft Excel table, you can print just the Excel table.

6.You can also print a workbook to a file instead of to a printer. This is useful when you need to print the workbook on a different type of printer from the one that you originally used to print it.

7. You can also convert to PDF format using the Print Option (It Will be explaining another lesson exclusive for How to Print using various setting).

Tip : Keyboard shortcut Key For Print : Ctrl + P

Share Button

The Share pane gives you two options for sharing your workbook with people and Email.

Share with People: Excel 2016 also lets you save a workbook to the cloud using OneDrive. You can also export and share workbooks with others directly from Excel.

Email:  Your workbook in several different ways, including as an attachment in email, as an email with a link, as a PDF or XPS document, or, as an internet fax.

Tip : You can also save the file to SkyDrive or Sharepoint, change the File Type, and create a PDF or XPS document.

 Tip : Keyboard Shortcut for Share Workbook : Alt+F+Z

Export Button

To Export a workbook as a PDF document for sharing and Change File Types launch the Backstage view from an existing workbook

Create PDF/XPS Document:

1. In the Backstage view options list, click on Export.

2. In the Export view, click on Create PDF/XPS Document.

3. Then click on the Create PDF/XPS button.

Change File Types:

1. In the Backstage view options list, click on Export.

2. Change workbook to other workbook file types like Excel 97-2003 workbook, Open document Spreadsheet etc.

3. Change workbook to other file types like Text format, CSV format etc.

4.Save As : It is already discussed in Save As button section.

 Tip : Keyboard Shortcut for Export Workbook : Alt+F+E

Publish Button

It is continuing to Export option. Follow below steps.

1. In the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog box you will have a number of options to help you save your Excel workbook as a PDF document. 

2. Give your PDF document a name or use the name of the workbook.

3. If you wish to save the entire workbook to PDF and not just the selected worksheet, click on Options to set this.

4. Click on Publish to create the PDF document.

5. PDF documents have a red Adobe Acrobat icon.  To open an Adobe document, use your general Windows folder browser instead of opening it within Excel. If you open a PDF document from within Excel, Microsoft will try to convert the PDF back to an Excel worksheet.

Close Button

To close a database, click this option. The database will close immediately when this option is selected.

Tip : Keyboard Shortcut Key for Close : Ctrl + W  or Alt+F+C

Account Button

This option provides information about Access, allows you to change the Office Background and the Office Theme.

When these two features are changed, it affects all the Microsoft programs, not just Access.

1.In the Backstage view options list, click on Account button.

2.If you can change easily your Excel theme to Colorful or Dark Gray or White.

3. If you sing in to office, Get to your documents from anywhere by signing in to Office. Your experience just gets better and more personalized on every device you use.

4. Product Information: It shows which version is installed in your pc and its shows your product activated or not activated. Any office updates is there you have download and install latest Excel Updates.

 Tip : Keyboard Shortcut for Account of Workbook : Alt+F+D

Feedback Button

1.In the Backstage view options list, click on Feedback button. It shows three options , Send a Smile, Send a Frown and Send a suggestion.

2.Send a Smile: If you have like excel features give a positive feedback using this option.

3.Send a Frown: If you have unlike in any of excel feature give a some of negative feedback and explain about you faced difficulties. Then excel team can fix it.

4.Send a Suggestion: Do you have an idea for a new feature or an improvement of excel features, you have send to a suggestion using this options.

 Tip : Keyboard Shortcut for Feedback : Alt+F+Y3

Option Button

Select this option to change the Access program options. Changes made here will remain until you access the window again and change them back.

This is where you go to configure your app. Everything from the color theme Office uses, to the spell check options, editing languages, default file locations and a lot more.

Some of the most useful setting using Option Dialog box

Automatic save option in Excel for every 1 Minute

1. Whilst in the regular workbook view, click on the File tab to launch the Backstage view.

2. In the Backstage tab options list, click on Options to launch the Excel 2016 Options dialog box

In the Options dialog box (see screen shot below), take the following steps to ensure Excel saves your workbook automatically:

1. Click on Save.

2. Ensure the Save AutoRecover information ever x minutes, box is ticked.

3. Set the AutoRecover minutes to a value that suits your requirement.  Setting it to save every 1 minute will save your workbook automatically ever 1 minute.

4. Press OK to save your settings.

The automatic save function works in the background, and you won’t have any indication Excel is saving the workbook, unless it is a very large workbook, in which case you may briefly spot a progress bar at the bottom of your Excel workbook.

 Tip : Keyboard Shortcut for Share Workbook : Alt+F+T

Getting back to your Excel Sheet

If you want to exit Backstage, and return to the document you were working on, there are a couple of options. You can click the Back arrow that is at the top left of the navigation pane, or just press the Escape key on your keyboard.

If you liked my blog, share it with your friends on Facebook. And also you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We would love to hear from you, do let us know how we can improve, complement or innovate our work and make it better for you. Write us at my Contact Page.