How to use startup folders in Excel 2003 (822107)

SUMMARY

This step-by-step article explains how to use the Microsoft Excel startup folders. Excel uses startup folders in two ways:

• To load Excel files at startup.
  
  -and-
• As a reference location for templates.

The actual startup folder locations vary, depending on which version of Excel you use. For more details about Excel startup locations, see the "References" section later in this article.
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Folders That Excel Uses at Startup

If you install Excel in the default location, Excel opens files from the following paths:

• C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11\Xlstart
• C:\Documents and Settings\User_name\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART where User_name is your logon user name.
• The folder that is specified in the At startup, open all files in box on the General tab in the Options dialog box. (To see the Options dialog box, click Options on the Tools menu.)

Accepted File Types During Excel Startup

You typically use startup folders to load Excel templates and add-ins, but you can also use startup folders to load workbooks. When you load the following types of files from a startup folder, the files have the important characteristics that are described in the following list.

Templates

• If you save a workbook named Book.xlt, and then put it in a startup folder location, that workbook is the default workbook when you start Excel or open a new workbook.
• To use additional templates, you must put them in the following folder: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033
  
  To use the templates, click New on the File menu.

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Add-Ins

• Add-ins (.xla files) that you put in a startup folder do not typically appear when you start Excel. The add-ins are loaded in memory. The add-ins run any auto macros.
• You can use these add-ins by whatever method the add-in provides (for example, a command on a menu or a button on a toolbar).

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Workbooks

• Workbooks (.xls files) that you put in a startup folder are loaded and appear when you start Excel, unless the workbook is saved in a hidden state. For example, the personal macro workbook Personal.xls is a global macro workbook that Excel typically loads from the XLStart folder in a hidden state.

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Incorrect Use of the Alternate Startup File Location

• When you use the alternate startup file location, you must specify a file path where there are recognizable file types (such as templates, add-ins, and workbooks).
• If Excel finds unrecognizable file types in a startup folder, you may receive an error message. The most common error message is:
  This file is not a recognizable format.

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Use the Default File Location

• In addition to the alternate startup file location, the Default file location setting is also on the General tab in the Options dialog box. This setting is different from a startup folder; it sets the folder location that you want Excel to point to when you open or save a file by using the File menu.

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