XLNavigator Vertical Tabs for Excel

The Problem

Excel's horizontal tab bar was designed in 1995 for monitors that were wider than they were tall. Today, we have widescreen displays — but Excel still crams sheet tabs into a tiny strip at the bottom.

With 20, 50, or 100+ sheets, you spend more time scrolling through tabs than actually working. Right-click, scroll, squint at tiny names, click the wrong one, try again.

It's 2025 and we're still navigating like it's Windows 95.

The Solution

Vertical Tabs adds a dockable panel to the side of your Excel window. All your sheets are listed vertically — visible at a glance, no scrolling required for most workbooks.

Need a specific sheet? Just start typing. The search filter finds it instantly. Press Enter, you're there. Two seconds to any sheet, regardless of workbook size.

Key Features

• Vertical sheet list — See all your sheets in a scrollable vertical panel
• Instant search — Type to filter sheets by name, jump directly to any sheet
• Dockable panel — Dock to left or right side, or float anywhere
• Sheet management — Right-click menu for rename, hide, delete, and more
• Color indicators — Tab colors are shown in the vertical list
• Hidden sheet visibility — See and access hidden sheets easily

Compatibility

Vertical Tabs works with:

• Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021
• Microsoft 365 (Office 365)
• Windows 10 and Windows 11

It installs as a COM add-in and integrates directly into Excel's ribbon interface.

Why We Built This

Every modern IDE has vertical tabs. VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains tools — they all figured out that vertical navigation is better for large projects. Excel users deserve the same.

After years of right-clicking tab scroll arrows and hunting through sheet lists, I built what Microsoft should have added a decade ago. Simple, fast, effective.

Official Resources

• Manage worksheets — Microsoft worksheet guide
• Hide or show worksheets — visibility management