Excel Annoyances

TEMPLATE ANNOYANCES

CREATE A WORKBOOK TEMPLATE

The Annoyance:

I create worksheets for many different projects, but they all have the same basic layout (shown in Figure 2-4) and formulas. I’d like to save the general layout of the workbook (one worksheet for each month, the color scheme, the formulas, etc.) so that I don’t have to go through the rigmarole of saving the base workbook under a new name. It gets even worse when I press Ctrl-S as a reflex after I delete the data but before I save the workbook under its new name. Isn’t there some way to create a template I can call up like the ones that come with Excel?

Figure 2-4. This could be a template—but how do you call it up when you need it?

The Fix:

To create a workbook template, follow these steps:

1. Create the workbook with all headings, labels, and such, but without data.

2. Choose File → Save As, and in the “Save as type” box, select Template (*.xlt).

3. Verify at the top of the dialog box that in the “Save in” dropdown, the Templates folder is selected. Type a name for the template in the “File name” box below and click the Save button.

After you save a workbook template, you can create a new workbook based on that template. The precise steps you follow depend on the version of Excel you’re using:

• In Excel 97 or 2000, choose File → New and in the General tab, double-click the desired template.

• In Excel 2002, choose ...