Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Automatically Loading Add-ins.

Automatically Loading Add-ins

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated September 2, 2017)

3

Michael asked if there is a way to selectively load add-ins for specific worksheets. There is a way to do this, but it involves the use of macros attached to the Workbook module for the specific worksheets. Follow these general steps:

  1. Load the worksheet for which you want a specific add-in loaded.
  2. Press Alt+F11 to display the VBA Editor.
  3. Double-click on the ThisWorkbook object in the Project Explorer. Excel opens a code window for This Workbook. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. Double-click the ThisWorkbook object in the Project Explorer.

  4. Place the following macros in the code window:
Private Sub Workbook_BeforeClose(Cancel As Boolean)
    AddIns("Add-In Name").Installed = False
End Sub

Private Sub Workbook_Open()
    AddIns("Add-In Name").Installed = True
End Sub
  1. In the code, change the name of the add-in ("Add-In Name") to the real name of the add-in you want to use with the workbook.
  2. Close the VBA Editor.
  3. Save your workbook.

If you are not sure of the correct name for a particular add-in (see step 5), you can use the macro recorder to record the process of activating an add-in. That will show you the exact name you should use in the above macros.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11788) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Automatically Loading Add-ins.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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What is nine more than 0?

2018-03-02 11:04:31

David Gray

The problem with any such approach is that macro code in a template is copied into the new workbook, marking it as macro enabled. Even if you save it as a plain workbook, you must first deal with the embedded macro prompt.

2018-03-01 08:56:57

Talak

there are several best ways to achieve that than type code every time you create a new file (assuming you always create Workbooks manually).

First option (cleanest)

Every time you create a new Document in Excel (same with other Office documents), the application loads the default model.
You can edit this model and load every add-in you want. Every time a new document is created, the custom default add-ins will be loaded as well.

First option (less clean but supports automation and better adaptivness)

You can write code in VBA using code.
In other terms, you can make a code every time you open the default document which writes some code lines likes the one you wrote automatically on any new document or with the "saveas" option (note that XLSX workbooks will display an error message when trying to save macros).
As well, you can also change the DLLs or addins you want to load when the workbook is created by automation.
For example, you can have different addins in automated workbooks and manually created ones.

2017-09-06 14:25:21

David Gray

I've thought about this approach off and on for many years. My main issue with it is that it marks the workbook as Macro Enabled, and it must be saved as a .XLSM file. Since there's a good chance that the code that I want to use went into an add-in to avoid this issue, I am reluctant to implement it in the real world. There are just too many security issues with making everything a macro-enabled workbook.

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