How to Create a Spreadsheet Template in Excel

If you create similar spreadsheets all the time, use Excel 2000 to create your own custom template with all your common settings in it.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Excel Book
• Microsoft Excel

1. Create a workbook file with all the basic settings you use: sheets, default text (such as column and row labels and page headers and footers), formulas, macros and anything else you want in new workbooks based on the template. You probably don't want to enter a lot of data into the template, but you might.

2. Open the File menu and select Save As.

3. In the "Save as type" box, click Template (*.xlt).

4. In the "Save in" box, select the folder where you want to store the template. To create a normal template, select the Templates folder, which should have automatically opened when you chose the Template type in the previous step.

5. To make this template the default (so that it's automatically selected), save the folder in the XLStart folder. The XLStart folder should be located in the following place: C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLStart.

6. In the "File name" box, type a name for the template (like "Budget template"). Use the name "book" if you want this template to be the default.

7. Click Save.

Tips & Warnings

• To use the template, select it in the box that appears when you choose the New command.