Office Settings & Configuration

Fix Excel Not Cycling Through Hidden Sheets by Letter

Maira Mehtab Sep 22, 2026 872 views

Question details

Users are unable to cycle through hidden sheet names by repeatedly pressing the first letter of the sheet's name in the Unhide dialog.

Product: Microsoft Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Attempting to quickly navigate and unhide specific worksheets that start with the same letter using keyboard shortcuts.
Observed behavior: Pressing the first letter only selects the first hidden sheet alphabetically and fails to cycle through subsequent sheets beginning with that same letter.

Before you start

Verify your current Excel version by navigating to File > Account, as recent Microsoft Office updates have modified default keyboard navigation behaviors in dialog boxes.

Solution 1Recommended

Report the Behavior Change to Microsoft

Since the repeated-letter cycling behavior was removed in a recent Excel version update, submitting direct feedback is the recommended way to alert the development team.

Software updates occasionally deprecate older keyboard shortcuts or dialog box navigation methods. The most effective way to restore this feature is to let Microsoft know that this change disrupts your workflow.

Open the Help menu

Launch Microsoft Excel and click on the 'Help' tab located in the top ribbon.

Select Feedback

Click on the 'Feedback' button to open the feedback pane on the right side of the screen.

Report the issue

Choose 'I don't like something' or 'Report a problem', describe that the repeated-letter cycling for hidden sheets is no longer working, and click submit.

Update Status: Until Microsoft addresses this feedback in a future patch, you will need to use alternative methods to unhide sheets.

Solution 2

Alternative Workaround: Unhide Multiple Sheets Using Mouse and Keyboard

Instead of relying on the keyboard letter-cycling, utilize the multiple-selection feature introduced in newer Excel versions to quickly find and unhide sheets.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my Excel shortcuts stop working after an update?

Microsoft frequently updates Excel to improve performance, security, and accessibility. Sometimes, these updates intentionally or unintentionally alter older keyboard shortcuts or dialog box behaviors, such as cycling through lists by pressing a letter.

How can I unhide all hidden sheets at once in Excel?

In newer versions of Excel, you can right-click a sheet tab, choose 'Unhide', click the first sheet in the list, hold the 'Shift' key, and click the last sheet to select all of them. Then click 'OK' to unhide every sheet simultaneously.

Is there a VBA macro to unhide sheets quickly?

Yes. Press Alt + F11 to open the VBA Editor, insert a new module, and enter the code: 'Sub UnhideAll() Dim ws As Worksheet For Each ws In Worksheets ws.Visible = xlSheetVisible Next ws End Sub'. Running this macro will instantly unhide all worksheets in your workbook.

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