Startup Templates

Templates are a great tool for introducing consistency in certain types of workbooks. An invoice template, for example, can have the formatting and formulas already set up so that the user only has to enter some numbers. It can be a real time saver.

There are two special templates that Excel provides that are worth noting. They go by the names Book.xlt and Sheet.xlt. These templates, when placed in your XLStart folder determine the configuration of normal workbooks and worksheets. If you’re a Word person, they are similar to Normal.dot.

Book.xlt determines the configuration of workbooks that are created using File>New>Workbook. It does not change existing workbooks, only newly added ones. For example: If every time you create a new workbook, you want two sheets in it and you want the first sheet to have extra wide columns and the second sheet to always have the a certain header (in page setup), then you could set up a blank workbook with that configuration and save it in XLStart as Book.xlt. All new workbooks will have this configuration.

Sheet.xlt is the template that determines the configuration for newly added worksheets. It too, does not effect existing worksheets. If you save a one-worksheet workbook as Sheet.xlt (again, in XLStart), then using Insert>Worksheet will add a worksheet based on Sheet.xlt.

2 thoughts on “Startup Templates

  1. Hi,

    Thanks for this – the MS site is useless. A little update for Excel 2004 – if you want to change the default Excel template, open a new blank document, make your changes, and Save As Template, and name the Template Book.xlt or Sheets.xlt as you describe above. This can be saved in the “My Templates”

    Again, thanks for the link. Very succinct, a very welcome relief to find it for a very frustrated PC person :o)

    Cheers,

    Chris

  2. Great info, I have one futher question.

    When insterting a new Sheet.Xtl in to a work book the new sheets name is that of the sheet in the template. When added it will add a sheet called “sheet1(1)”
    How do you get the new sheet to contiune on the naming convention and be called sheet4?

    Thanks
    Shaun


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