Tuesday, April 5, 2011

ISSUE: Personal.xlsb doesn't load

ISSUE:  A user may have setup some personal macros in the Personal.xlsb file but those marcos don't seem to be accessible when opening Excel files from within an Engagement binder.

CAUSE:  Apparently, the Personal.xlsb file doesn't load when Excel is started with automation (think opening Excel files within Engagement).

RESOLUTION:  Navigate to the location of the Personal.xlsb file and open it.  You may need to unhide it before continuing.  Do a "Save As" and save the file as an Excel Addin (".xla") which should save the file in to the appropriate directory on the user's machine (which should be in the "C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Addins\" directory for Windows 7 users).  Once the Addin file is saved and Excel has been closed, move the Personal.xlsb file to a different location (just to make sure it doesn't get loaded) and reopen Excel.  If the Addin file isn't loaded, make sure the Addin file is set to be loaded (meaning "checked") in the Excel Addins dialog (Excel button | Excel Options | Addins | Excel Addins).

Any Addin file that is set to be loaded should be available when opening files from within Engagement.