Forum Discussion
Excel Custom Styles available to all workbooks, new or existing
Hi RustyCT1
unfortunately, it's a bit complicated... 😉
First of all, whatever Workbooks you store in the XLSTART directory in your users directory will be opened when you launch Excel:
C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART
If you just want a "customized" workbook with your own cell styles, you create these formats in a blank workbook and store it as a template (*.xltx) in XLSTART. The name must be Book.xltx (not Book1.xltx, so you are right with your assumption).
And whatever you have stored in that template (cell styles, fonts etc.) will be available the new blank workbook, when
- you launch Excel
- you create a new workbook using Ctrl+N
- you create a new workbook by clicking the "New File" icon in the "Quick Access Toolbar", if you use that:
The new styles are NOT available, if you create a new workbook using the menu "File | New | Blank workbook":
This seems to be a different template an I have no idea if this "Blank workbook" in the file menu can also be changed somewhere.
In any case, the adjusted cell style will be available only in new workbooks, but not in existing ones And I'm not aware of a method to make them available to already existing workbooks (but of course I'm willing to be convinced of the opposite 🙂 .
Hi RustyCT1
unfortunately, it's a bit complicated... 😉
First of all, whatever Workbooks you store in the XLSTART directory in your users directory will be opened when you launch Excel:
C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART
If you just want a "customized" workbook with your own cell styles, you create these formats in a blank workbook and store it as a template (*.xltx) in XLSTART. The name must be Book.xltx (not Book1.xltx, so you are right with your assumption).
And whatever you have stored in that template (cell styles, fonts etc.) will be available the new blank workbook, when
- you launch Excel
- you create a new workbook using Ctrl+N
- you create a new workbook by clicking the "New File" icon in the "Quick Access Toolbar", if you use that:
The new styles are NOT available, if you create a new workbook using the menu "File | New | Blank workbook":
This seems to be a different template an I have no idea if this "Blank workbook" in the file menu can also be changed somewhere.
In any case, the adjusted cell style will be available only in new workbooks, but not in existing ones And I'm not aware of a method to make them available to already existing workbooks (but of course I'm willing to be convinced of the opposite 🙂 .
Thank you Martin_Weiss for this detailed and helpful response. I believe you nailed the problem with Microsoft's documentation with this explanation, especially with:
"[...] will be available the new blank workbook, when
- you launch Excel
- you create a new workbook using Ctrl+N
- you create a new workbook by clicking the 'New File' icon in the 'Quick Access Toolbar'"I realized immediately that I'd been testing the steps of creating and using a customized Book.xltx placed in XLSTART by opening a blank workbook that does not use Book.xltx! Instead of opting to open a new workbook via one of the 3 methods mentioned above by you, I had been using the (wrong/failing) approach available at launch:
Perhaps both new-workbook-opening methods shown above will not work, even though I'm suggesting the one on the left might work. In my testing I only used the one shown on the right.
Bottom Line: Be careful which shortcut you use to open a blank workbook if you want Excel to model your new workbook after your XLSTART saved template: Book.xltx.
