← Sheets prep

5 / 12 ⏱ 16 minutes

Naming files

A workbook name you will still find in a year.

Why you do not want “Spreadsheet 47”

Drive can name a file itself. Untitled spreadsheet, Sao chép of Tables, Spreadsheet (1). In a week you do not know what is homework and what is a try with a friend.

A good name says what, for whom and sometimes when. For example Tables with Martin or Grades_Ema_2026. Without special letters and spaces it sometimes goes through better on older computers — Grades_Ema instead of Grades Ema.

💡

Workbook ≠ sheet. The workbook name is top left (Tables with Martin). The sheet name is at the bottom (Grades). Tên both. The workbook is a file on Drive. The sheet is a tab inside.

Rules that save nerves

  1. No question marks and stars in a file name. Somewhere it breaks a link.
  2. Short, but clear. Maths_test is better than today homework from the teacher.
  3. Versions by date. Grades_2026-03 instead of final_final2.
  4. Rename a copy at once. When you Duplicate, rename right away — before three the same sit on Drive.

In Excel on a computer the same goes for .xlsx. A file table.xlsx in Downloads you will not know in a month.

Rename the workbook again — and right

Check that the name fits. Sometimes “Untitled” stays, even if you thought you already named it.

  1. Open the workbook on Drive.

  2. Click the name top left (blue text in Sheets).

  3. Type Tables with Martin. No typo. Enter.

  4. Wait for “Saved to Drive”. The name changes in the browser tab too.

Rename the sheets too, so they fit

In a year you will not know what is inside sheet Sheet3.

  1. At the bottom double-click the tab. You have Grades, Ghi chús, Pocket — not Sheet2.

  2. A new sheet with plus → name it at once. For example Survey, when its turn comes.

  3. Click between the sheets. The content does not change. Only the label changes.

⚠️

Do not rename the workbook when a teacher sent you a homework link. They look for the original name. On your own workbook, go ahead. On a shared one from school, ask if you may.

Duplicate ≠ rename

When you want a copy for a try:

  1. On Drive right-click the workbook → Make a copy.

  2. Open the copy at once. At the top rename it to Tables try 1.

  3. Leave the original Tables with Martin alone. The course lives in it.

🏫 Grade average One sheet, two columns: subject and grade. At the bottom a sum and an average.
💰 Pocket money Rows = days, columns = income / spend / left.
📊 Class survey One question, answers in one column, later a chart.
🏆 Mini dashboard Three numbers at the top and one chart. Numbers as a link, not copied by hand.

Now you 💪

  1. The workbook name top left is Tables with Martin, not “Untitled”.
  2. The sheets at the bottom make sense: Grades, Ghi chús (plus Pocket, if it already exists).
  3. On Drive a search for Tables with Martin finds one main workbook (copies can have another name).
  4. No sheet is called Sheet1 or Sheet4.
  5. You know the difference between renaming a workbook and duplicating.

Check: The workbook and the sheets have names you will understand in half a year. Drive finds the workbook by the name.

What to take from this lesson