Comments on: Conditionally Load Excel Add-ins

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:34:00 +0000

I’ve used Charles add-in loader for a while, and to great effect. Thanks Charles!

By: AlexJ

AlexJ — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:19:00 +0000

I like network add-ins as well. Here are a couple ideas for managing manual add-ins:

1. I have an alternate Add-In directory on my machine which holds all the local stuff I might need, and I leave a shortcut to it in the AddIns directory. That way, if I'm travelling, I can manually select add-ins from an alternate path without a lot of navigating. Combined with Marc's approach, you could cover everything.

2. I don't add all my add-ins at startup. For instance, Name Manager is activated by a toolbar control that was copied from the Name Manager menu. The resulting button points diretly at the add-in, no code!, and no refernece is made in the add-in list. I just have to make sure that the add-in file name does not change, 'cause then the button fails. Oddly, since I use Name Manager every day, it would be fine to set up as an auto-load add-in, but this approach has worked just fine.

By: Rob van Gelder

Rob van Gelder — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:50:00 +0000

Certainly option 2. Why hack Excel into doing something that comes with Windows by default?
I would go with Marc's suggestion.

Interesting that you have so many Add-Ins. It must take an age to start up.
I've found Excel becomes an even more useful tool when it's available immediately (ie. click the Excel icon, and *bang* it's up). I require zero-add-ins to get level of speed.

By: dmaxey

dmaxey — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Oops… I thought my first post didn’t take. You can delete one if you like (or both, if you want to make me feel bad).

By: dmaxey

dmaxey — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:47:00 +0000

I do something a little different. I have a workbook on a network share that functions as a toolbar loader. When users open it they are presented with a user form with checkboxes to select which “macro” (not everyone understands VBA) they want to install on their toolbar. The toolbar is installed on their local Excel, but the buttons point individual routines in a SEPARATE workbook (also located where the toolbar loader is). This way I can modify the code to my heart’s content, and it’s all transparent to the users. Excel never complains on a remote start up, because it is not an “add-in” that it is trying to load. Of course, if one of the toolbar buttons is clicked when remote it will complain… but that’s to be expected.

By: dmaxey

dmaxey — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:17:00 +0000

I use a different approach at work. Instead of add-ins, I create toolbar loaders. In short, there is workbook on a network share (obviously users must have access to it). When a user navigates to that location and opens the workbook they are presented with a user form with checkboxes for them to choose the “macro” they want to install. This then installs a toolbar with a button for each selected “macro”. The catch is that each button references a “macro” in a SEPARATE worksheet that happens to reside in the same location as the toolbar loader. This allows me to protect the workbook, and I am able to change what the code does, yet the users don’t have to update anything. Since the toolbar is always there (unless you go back into the loader and check the box to remove the toolbar) there are never any complaints when Excel starts when you are not on the network. Of course, if you are away and click on one of the toolbar buttons you will get a complaint…. but that’s to be expected.

By: marc

marc — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:07:00 +0000

Couldn’t you make the folder, where the add ins sit on the server, available offline through windows offline folder option? Then if you’re not connected you still have a local copy of the add in that Excel sees and can use, and when you do connect to the network it will be synced in case there is a newer version on the server.

By: Harald Staff

Harald Staff — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:40:00 +0000

I have lots of "download and install yourself" addins, when latest version is not critical. And I have #3 on a shared folder, when I know that all users of it can access the drive.

Nice thing then is; you can code it to open read-only, for safety, code is not to be fixed and saved by users at rare runtime errors. And you can set something whatever that prevents it from opening at user machines at times when you want to maintain and fix the addin. The "file is in use" problem is pretty volatile when it comes to Excel addins, and I for one do not want to do maintenance coding at 4am.

By: Ross

Ross — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:34:00 +0000

I think number 2 is the standard approach, you can’t do 3, what if the addin is needed by the user? That’s also counts out 1. So 2 is the only real solution. Nice of Charles to have already written it for us though . Thanks Charles!

By: fzz

fzz — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:39:00 +0000

Much lower tech, I load Excel via batch file. That is, the various shortcuts that launch Excel call the batch file, and my Excel files are associated with the batch file.

The batch file checks for the existence of the network login script on the appropriate network share. If it finds the file, then there's a network connection. If there's a network connection, I use REG.EXE to load appropriate registry setting before launching Excel. If there's not a network connection, I use REG.EXE to delete OPEN# values under HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice11.0ExcelOptions that point to any drive other than my C: drive.

This is a configuration issue, and I guess I'm just very used to using batch files or other forms of scripts to deal with different configurations depending on network or peripheral connections.