open a specific spreadsheet when first opens

Ok, I did some reading and found the XLSTART folder.

issue #1
At least some of what I read indicated you could put either a file or a shortcut to a file there. It would not let me create a shortcut, it told me windows could not create a shortcut there. I did let me copy the file there.

issue #2
I went ahead and copied my file there so I could do more testing.. When I click on EXCEL - the file did open automatically but opens read only so I can not edit, and I can not open it in the original location because the name are the same. I can not open any excel file by clicking on the file name, but can open other by clicking on the button on excel and getting a list of the file and selecting one.

Hope this make some sense, can you help with either issues. If you need more information, just let me know.

Fay

EDIT:
I was able to do it so that it will open on bootup which I think I like better. But I am still curious - should I have been able to put a shortcut in XLSTART. Kind of curious as to why it would let me copy the file there but not created a shortcut there.
But I am ok now.

On my computer (Windows 7), XLSTART is in 3 different locations. The location you want to use is as follows:

C:\Users\user name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\XLStart

I copied a worksheet into that location on my computer and it opened when EXCEL started. I was able to edit it with no problem, save the file, reopen it and verify that the edited information I placed in the worksheet was there. When you try to open the original of the copy you put into XLSTART from your other folder, it automatically opens the one in XLSTART and sees the original as a duplicate and won't open it. You have to rename the original file to get around that. You should be able to open any .xls file by clicking on it without having to open EXCEL and getting it from File > open. I have no problems doing that since I put my worksheet into XLSTART.

Go here and take a look to see if the information given helps beyond what I have said above:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/customize-how-excel-starts-HP010197489.aspx#BM1

Repa,

When I first did the google search, one of the things I found said you could put a shortcut to the file in the XLSTART folder and so when you edited it, it would edit the original. But it would not let me put a shortcut that. Either I was doing something wrong or that information was wrong. I was able to copy the original file there. - And I could edit and save - but of course it did not change the one in the original location

Also with a file in the XLSTART in would not let me open any other excel file by double clicking because it again tried to open EXCEL again and thus tried to open the file in XLSTART again. I could open another file by the FILE|OPEN method. Maybe there is some setting that I have that is trying to open another copy of EXCEL when I double click on a file.

Not sure if that makes sense. I have decided to forget the whole things. I was just playing around and trying to have it automatically open my retirement countdown worksheet. Not really anything important. I ended up just putting a shortcut on my desktop and I can just click that.

Instead of opening wen I open EXCEL I thought I had it fixed to open and boot up, and it did that.

But something I did while playing around with this messed up my file extensions - I really have no idea how. First it would not open an .XLS file. Fixed that and then it would not open a .XLSL file. Got that fixed - decided to just forget trying to have it open automatically. Have no idea what I did to cause that.

Thought it might be kind of neat to do that, but it is not really important. I'll just go with the shortcut on the desktop.

Thanks for your help.
Fay

Fay, I understand a little better now what you want to do. I have no problem doing it. I chose an .xls file in one of my folders and right-clicking on it, created and sent a shortcut for the file to my desktop. From the desktop, I moved the shortcut into

C:\Users\user name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\XLStart

and renamed the shortcut from filename.xls-shortcut to filename.xls. I did not copy the file from the original folder into XLSTART, only the shortcut. When I click on EXCEL to open it, it opens the file in the original folder. I am able to read, edit, and save the file with all changes to the file preserved in the original folder.

As far as opening other files, I click on any other .xls file I want to open and it opens, along with the file that the shortcut in XLSTART points to. The file you click on is presented over the one EXCEL automatically opens. So, you have 2 files open, but no big deal – you can leave the file that is automatically opened open, or close it. Either way, you can work with the file you want to work with.

I noticed that in the XLSTART Properties window that the Attributes are checked as Read Only, but that does not appear to have any effect on using the file the shortcut points to for reading, editing and saving.

I don’t know which path you used to locate XLSTART, but there are 3 different paths to an XLSTART folder on my Windows 7 computers, and the one to use is the one I mentioned above. You should have no problems doing this if you follow what I have outlined for you above.

Repa,

I do not know which folder I was trying to use. I tried to reproduce the problem I had but could not. I have not idea what happened.
But something got messes up somewhere along the way - because as I said above something happened to my file associates so it may have affected that also.

I used the folder you said and was able to copy in the shortcut. I was then able to edit it and it saved to the original location. Thanks. That took care of that problem

The only thing , and is it not really a problem.
If I click on Excel - it opens my file in the XLSTART ok. Now, while it is still open, if I go to another file, not from within excel, but from the folder where it is, and double click, it will open it, but it tries to re-open the file in XLSTART and I have to cancel that.

Thanks again for your help.


Fay

fay47 wrote:

The only thing , and is it not really a problem.
If I click on Excel - it opens my file in the XLSTART ok. Now, while it is still open, if I go to another file, not from within excel, but from the folder where it is, and double click, it will open it, but it tries to re-open the file in XLSTART and I have to cancel that.

That's interesting. Maybe I am not quite understanding you, but I cannot reproduce this "problem" on my computer. If I open another file while the one in XLSTART is open, the file opens fine without any indication that it is trying to reopen the one in XLSTART. I can open multiple files in EXCEL just like before I ever put that shortcut in XLSTART. The only difference is that the XLSTART file will always be there when EXCEL is open. However if I close that file from XLSTART while another . xls file is also open, and then open another .xls file, the file in XLSTART does not try to reopen, at least on my computer.

You do not need to mess with this unless you just want to. I was just trying to see if I could get it to work. Not really important except to learn something.

Here is what I am doing

double click on microsoft excel 2007
my file opens - countdown.xlsx (this is the one I put the shortcut to in XLSTART using your directions)
leave that open

go to my computer and navigate to folder that contains file I want to open
double click on file, budget_2014.xlsx

get a message countdown.xlsx is locked for editing
if I click on the cancel button on the message, budget_2014.xlsx opens ok
and my countdown.xlsx is still open in another window

note: I think it works ok if I open buget_2014.xlsx from the excel window that countdown.xlxs is open it


I have office 2007 and win 7.

Fay

Well, the difference may be that I am using Microsoft EXCEL 2000 from the Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business Suite, and using only .xls files. Sounds to me like you have a work-around the problem that isn't too difficult to do, so I wouldn't worry about it. I do not get the message that you do when I do the same thing.

REPA,

Yep you are right on. The difference is in the file type.

After reading your above message, I went and tried something - I have a few .xls files on my computer.
If my 2nd files is a.XLS file, it open without giving me the message. But if the 2nd file is an .XLSX file I get the message.

Not sure why that should make a difference, but it does.

And yeah, I have a work around so I am going to drop this issue.

Thanks for all your help.
Fay

My pleasure Fay. Glad I could help.