EXCEL FILES & TEMPLATES

Whenever you start a new project in Excel, you will need to create a new
workbook. There are several methods to start working with a workbook in Excel 2013.
Excel files are called workbooks.

We can choose to create a new workbook either with a blank workbook or a pre-
designed template.

An Excel template is a special type of workbook that is used as the basis to

create other workbooks.

Creating a new workbook:

When you start Excel 2013, it displays a Start Screen that lists recently used
files and shows templates that you can use as the basis for a new workbook .

While you are working in Excel, you can create a new ( empty ) workbook at any time.

Excel provides two ways to create a new workbook:

1. Select File → New, which displays a screen that lets you create a blank
workbook or a workbook based on a template. To create a new blank workbook,
click Blank Workbook.
2. Press Ctrl + N. This shortcut is the fastest way to start a new workbook if you
are not using a template.

A new blank workbook will appear with name “Book1”. By default, this workbook
contains one worksheet named “Sheet1”.
FILTERING FILENAMES

In Excel, to open a workbook from the Open dialog box,

 Select File – Open – Computer.

 Click Browse.
 An Open Dialog box will appear. Locate and select your workbook, then click
Open.

At the bottom of the Open dialog box, there is a button with a drop-down list.
When the Open dialog box is displayed, this button shows All Excel Files (and a long
list of file extensions). The Open dialog box displays only those files that match the
extensions. In other words, you see only standard Excel files.

If you want to open a file of a different type, click the arrow in the drop-down list and
select the file type that you want to open. Thus changes the filtering and displays only
files of the type that you specify.

You can also type a filter directly in the File Name box. For example, typing the
following will display only files that have an .xls extension(Press Enter after typing the
filter): *.xls.
SAVING AND AUTO RECOVERY

In Excel, it is important to save your workbook whenever you start a new

project or make changes to an existing one.

Excel provides four ways to save your workbook:

1. Click the Save icon on the Quick Access toolbar.

Or
2. Press Ctrl + S.
Or
3. Press Shift + F12.
Or
4. Choose File tab – Save As option.
 If your workbook has never been saved and you are saving the file for the
first time, the Save As pane will appear in Backstage view. Here, you can
specify a location where to save the file and give it a file name.
 To save the workbook to your computer, select Computer, then click Browse.
 The Save As dialog box will appear. Select the location where you want to
save the workbook.
 Enter a file name for the workbook, then click Save.
 The workbook will be saved. You can click the Save Command again to save
your changes as you modify the workbook.

AUTO RECOVERY

Excel automatically saves your workbooks to a temporary folder while you are
working on them. If you forget to save your changes or if Excel crashes, you can
restore the file using Auto Recover feature.

CONFIGURE THE AUTORECOVER SETTING IN EXCEL:

 Go to the File tab and click on Options.

 In the Excel Options Dialog box, click on the Save tab.
 Make sure both ‘Save Auto Recover information every 10 minutes’ and ‘Keep the
last auto saved version if I close without saving’ are checked. You can also keep the
auto recover duration to the smallest to make sure every file is saved

 Click OK. After, whenever you open Excel after a crash, you will be able to
see the files that can be auto recovered.

TO USE AUTORECOVER:

 Open Excel 2013. If auto saved versions of a file are found, the Document
Recovery pane will appear.
 Click to open an available file. The workbook will be recovered.

RECOVERING UNSAVED WORK

In Excel, when you close a workbook without saving your changes and if that
unsaved workbook has an auto saved version, then the Microsoft Excel dialog box
informs you of that fact.

To recover a workbook that you closed without saving:

 Click File tab→ Info → Manage Version → Recover Unsaved Workbooks.

 Click File tab → Open → Recent Workbooks → Recover Unsaved Workbooks.
 You will see a list of all draft versions of your workbooks. Scroll through the
list and search for the file you lost. Double –click on it to open it.
 The file will open in Excel, now all you have to do is hit the Save As button
to save the file.
BACKUP OF EXCEL FILE

Taking a backup of Excel files makes it possible to resist older versions in case
you made a mistake. This can be useful when you hit the save button when you didn’t
mean it or when you delete the main original final.

To backup an excel file:

 Go to the File tab and click on ‘Save as’.

 Select Computer, and then click on Browse at the bottom.
 The Save As dialog box will appear. At the bottom of it, there is an option
called ‘Tools’.
 Click on Tools and select ‘General Options’.

 In the General Options Window, check on ‘Always Create backup’. Set the
password to open and modify the file(optional). Click OK.

 Reenter password to proceed in the Confirm Password Window. Click OK.

 Renter password to modify the Confirm Password Window. Click OK.

  Finally, in the Save As dialog box, select the location where you want to save
the file. Enter a file name for the workbook and click Save.

 Now every new Excel file that you create will have a backup file associated
with it. But remember that backup Excel files have a different extension -
.xlk

PASSWORD – PROTECTING A WORKBOOK

In Excel, you can set a password for your workbook. When a user attempts to
open a password-protected workbook, a password must be entered before the file is
opened.

TO PROTECT YOUR WORKBOOK WITH PASSWORD:

 Click the File tab to access Backstage view.

 From the Info pane, click the Protect Workbook button. This button displays
some additional options in a drop-down list. Choose Encrypt with password
from the list.
 Excel displays the Encrypt Document Window

 Enter the Password and click OK.

  Re-enter the same password in the Confirm Password Window and click OK.

 Save the workbook.

 Now, when you will reopen the workbook, you will be prompted for a
password.

PROTECT WORKBOOK OPTIONS

In Excel 2013, the File tab – Info – Protect Workbook drop – down list contains
the following options:

 Mark as Final: Use this option to designated the workbook as ‘Final.” The
document is saved as a read-only file to prevent changes. This is not a security
feature. Rather, to let others know that you are sharing a completed version of a
workbook.
 Encrypt with Password: Use this command to specify a password that is required
to open the workbook.
 Protect Current Sheet: This command lets you protect various elements of a
worksheet. It controls what types of change people can make to the current sheet.
 Protect Workbook Structure: This command lets you protect the structure of a
workbook. It prevents unwanted changes to the structure of the workbook, such as
adding sheets.
 Restrict Access: Use this option to specify those who may open the document.
This feature requires a fee-based service called Information Rights Management.
 Add a Digital Signature: This Command allows you to ‘sign’ a workbook digitally.

CHECKING COMPATIBILITY:

Sometimes you may need to work with workbooks that were created in earlier
versions of Microsoft Excel, such as Excel 2003 or Excel 2000. When you open these
kinds of workbooks in a newer version of Excel (say – Excel 2013), they will appear in
Compatibility mode.

In Excel 2013, Compatibility Checker runs automatically when you attempt to

save your workbook in the older format,(say –“ Excel 97-2003(*.xls)”). If you try to use
some latest tools or options of Excel-2013 into your workbook, then the Compatibility
Checker window warns you that your document may lose some features or those
features may be degraded if you save it in the older format. The window also displays a
list of those features for you to review.

You have two options when the Compatibility checker discovers issues:

1. Check on “Cancel” button and then save the file in one of the new file
formats.
2. Click on “Continue” button to save it in the older version and lose some
functionally.
3. While the Compatibility Checker window is open, click the “Find” link next
to an item to jump to the location in the document that has the
compatibility problem. To learn more about the compatibility issue, click the
“Help” link next to an item.

To Exit Compatibility Mode:

♣ Click File tab → Info → Convert.

♣ Excel converts the document into the current Excel format that matches the
application version you are using.

Ex: if you are working in Excel 2013, it converts the document into that format to
give you the ability to take advantage of Excel 2013’s latest features.

TEMPLATES

A template is a predesigned workbook that you can use to create a new

workbook quickly. Excel templates are predesigned workbook files intended to save
time when you create common documents such as balance sheets, expense
statements and sales invoices etc. They contain labels, values, formulas, and
formatting, so when you use a template all you have to do is customize it with our own
information.

Excel comes with number of pre-defined templates, and you can also create
your own or find additional templates on the web. Unlike a typical workbook, which
has the file extension .xlsx, a template has the extension .xltx.
CREATING NEW WORKBOOK FROM A TEMPLATE

To Create a New Workbook from a Template:

 Click the File tab→ New. Several Templates will appear below the Blank
Workbook option.
 Select a template to review it.
 A Preview of the template will appear, along with additional information on
how the template can be used.
 Click Create to use the selected template.
 A new workbook will appear with the selected template.

Custom Template:

Excel provides number of inbuilt or pre-designed templates used to create

workbooks, but you can also create your own templates, called Custom templates. The
major benefit of creating custom template is to make your job easier. Once you have
designed your own template according to your requirements, you can use it again and
again to create workbooks.

Excel supports three types of templates.

a) The default workbook template: Used as the basis for new workbooks.

b) The default worksheet template: Used as the basis for new workbooks inserted into
a workbook.

c) Custom Workbook Templates: Usually, these ready-to-run workbooks include

formulas, but they can be as simple or as complex as you like. These templates are set
up so that a user can simply plug in values and get immediate results.

CREATING A TEMPLATE

To Create a New Template:

 Open an existing workbook (or create a new workbook) that you want to use
as a template. Everything you see or add to the workbook will be part of the
template.
 When you have the workbook the way you want your template to be, click
File tab – Save As – Computer – Browse.
 Save As Dialog box will be appeared.
 In the Save As Dialog box, select Excel Template from the Save As Type list.
 Select the location to save the file and enter the filename under File Name:
Field.
 Click on Save button.
 Now whenever you open the template, all you have to do is customize it for a
new workbook, then save the new workbook.

MODIFYING A TEMPLATE

A template file that you download is just like a workbook file. You can open a
template file, make changes to it, and then resave it.

To Modify a Template:

 Open the Excel template you want to modify or change. Click the File tab –
Open –Computer – Browse.
 In the popping up Open dialog box, find out and open the folder where your
Excel template is saved. Select the Excel template file you want to modify
and click the Open button.
 Make any changes into the opening Excel template. Like – you can change
the basic font setting, alignments, border and shadings of the elements used
in the template.
 Save the changes in the template by clicking on File tab – Save.

DEFAULT TEMPLATES

By default, Excel uses its own internal settings for the new workbooks or
worksheets. In Excel 2013, the default font-style for every new workbook/worksheet is
Calibri and font size is 11. By creating your own template files, you can control such
default settings. In other words, Excel uses your template files to set the default
settings for the new workbooks or worksheets, if these files exist. But if you have not
created these template files, Excel is perfectly happy to use its settings.
USE TEMPLATE TO CHANGE THE WORKBOOK DEFAULT SETTINGS:

In Excel, every new workbook that you create starts out with some default
settings. For example, the workbook has one worksheet, the worksheet has gridlines,
the page header and footer are blank, text appears in the ‘Calibri’ font-style with size
11, and so on. If you are not happy with any of the default workbook settings, you can
change them by creating a workbook template.

TO CHANGE EXCEL’SWORKBOOK DEFAULT SETTINGS:

 Open a new workbook.

 Add or delete sheets to give the workbook the number of worksheets that
you want.
 Make any other changes that you want to make, which can include row
heights, column widths, named styles, page setup options, and many of the
formatting options that are available in the Excel.
 When your workbook is set up to your liking, choose File tab – Save As –
Computer – Browse.
 The Save As dialog box appears. Select Excel Template (*.xltx) from the
Save As Type list.
 Enter the Filename under File name: field.
 Save the file in your XL: Start folder (not in the templates folder that
Exceed proposes).

To find the location of your XLStart folder:

 Select File tab→ Options to display the Excel Options dialog box.
 Choose Trust Center, and click the Trust Center Settings button.
 In the Trust Center dialog box, choose Trusted Locations. You will see a list
of trusted locations.
 The location for your template file (book .xltx) is the location described as
User Start Up, like on my system, the location is:
C:\Users\PKS\App Data\Roaming\Microsoft\XLSTART\
 (Here, PKS is the username)
 Close the file.

After you perform the preceding steps, the new default workbook is based on
the book.xltx workbook template. Now, you can create a new workbook based
on your template file (Ex: book.xltx) by using any of these methods:

i. Press Ctrl +N.

ii. Open Excel without first selecting a workbook to open. This option works
only if you disable the option to Show the Start screen when Excel starts.
This option is specified in the General tab of the Excel Options dialog
box.(Select File tab – Options to display the Excel Options dialog box.)
EDITING YOUR TEMPLATE

After you create your (Ex: boom.xltx) template, you may discover that you need to
change it.

To edit book.xltx template:

 Open the template file (Ex: book.xltx) in Excel.

 Make the required changes in the file just like any other workbook.
 After you make your changes, save the file again to its original location and
close it.

Resetting the default workbook

If you have created book.xltx template file and later you decide that you would
rather use the standard default settings, simply delete (or rename) the book.xltx
template file. Excel then uses its built-in default settings for new workbooks.

SAVING YOUR CUSTOM TEMPLATES

To save a book as a template:

1. Click File Click File tab → save as → Computer →Browse

2. Save As Dialog box will be appeared.

3. In the Save As Dialog box, select Excel Template form the Save As Type list

4. Save the template in your Template folder, which Excel automatically

suggests or a folder within that Templates folder.

5. Enter the filename under File name : field.

6. Click on Save button

Getting Ideas for Creating Templates:

1. S type: The best approach is to choose Home tab → Style group → Cell
Styles command and modify the attributes of the Normal Style.
Ex: you can change the font-style, font-size, alignment etc.
2. Column Width and Row Heights: You may prefer that columns be wider
or narrower, or you may want the rows to be taller.
3. Multiple Formatted Worksheets: You can create a workbook template
that has two worksheets – one formatted to print in landscape mode and
one formatted to print in portrait mode.
4. Print Settings: Change these settings in the Page Layout tab. You can
adjust the page orientation, paper size, margins, and several other
attributes.
5. Header and Footer: You can enter custom headers or footers in Page
Layout view. Choose View tab → workbook Views group → Page Layout
command
6. Sheet Settings: Sheet settings option include – show formula bar on the
worksheet, show Horizontal scrollbar, show Vertical scrollbar, show
sheet tabs etc. These options lies on the Advanced tab of the Excel
Options dialog box.