VBA GetOpenFilename: A File Picker Dialog for Your Macros

This guide is part of the FinDataPro Excel VBA Workbook Events series.

What Is GetOpenFilename?

Option Explicit

Sub ImportBankStatement()
    Dim filePath As Variant

    filePath = Application.GetOpenFilename( _
        FileFilter:="CSV Files (*.csv), *.csv", _
        Title:="Select the Bank Statement CSV")

    If filePath = False Then
        MsgBox "No file selected. Import cancelled.", vbInformation
        Exit Sub
    End If

    Workbooks.Open Filename:=filePath
End Sub

The dialog opens, the user browses to the bank statement CSV wherever it happens to live this month, and filePath holds the full path — nothing hardcoded.

It Returns a Path — It Does Not Open Anything

This is the single most common misunderstanding of this method: GetOpenFilename never touches the file system. It shows a dialog and returns whatever path the user selected, as a string. Opening the file is a separate step — Workbooks.Open in the snippet above, or a text-import routine if you are reading a CSV directly rather than opening it as a workbook.

Finance Use Case: No Hardcoded Bank Statement Paths

A hardcoded path like C:\Statements\Jan2026.csv breaks the moment the file moves, the folder structure changes, or the macro runs on a colleague's machine with a different drive letter. Letting the user pick the file removes that entire category of failure — the macro adapts to wherever the file actually is this month, instead of assuming it never moves.

Handling Cancel Correctly

When the user clicks Cancel, GetOpenFilename returns the Boolean False — not an empty string, not Nothing. Declaring the variable as Variant and checking If filePath = False before using it as a path is what stops a Type Mismatch error from surfacing the moment someone changes their mind and cancels.

Restricting the File Filter

The FileFilter argument keeps the dialog showing only relevant files — CSVs for a bank import, rather than every file type in the folder. Multiple filters can be combined with a comma-separated list if the macro needs to accept both .csv and .txt exports from different banks.

Selecting Multiple Files

Set MultiSelect:=True to let the user select several statements at once — useful for batch-importing several bank accounts in one pass. The return value then becomes an array, not a single path, so the calling code needs a loop rather than a single Workbooks.Open call.

Related Guides on This Series

Once the file is picked, check Check If Workbook Is Open before opening it to avoid a duplicate-open conflict, or see Workbooks.Add if the picked file instead needs to seed a brand-new working copy rather than being opened directly.

Full reference: Microsoft Learn Application.GetOpenFilename method reference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

GetOpenFilename removes the hardcoded path that breaks the moment a file moves. Check for the False cancel case, filter to the relevant file type, and reach for MultiSelect when the workflow needs several files at once. Once the statement is imported, see AutoBankRec for the reconciliation itself.

Prashant Panchal• ACA | FMVA® | 19 Years in Finance

Prashant Panchal is a Chartered Accountant (ACA) and Financial Modelling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA®) with 19 years of experience in finance, FP&A, and financial modelling across the GCC region. He is the founder of FinDataPro.