XL: How to Use the Template Wizard with Data Tracking Add-In

ID: Q148314

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

The Template Wizard with Data Tracking is an add-in for Microsoft Excel. The Template Wizard allows you to transform a workbook into an online template or form, and to link it to a designated database. The Template Wizard walks you through a five-step process of creating the database template that you use to automatically add data to a database or a Microsoft Excel workbook.


MORE INFORMATION

The add-in discussed in this article is provided "as is" and Microsoft does not guarantee that it can be used in all situations. Although Microsoft Technical Support can help with the installation and existing functionality of this add-in, they will not modify the add-in to provide new functionality.

Each time you type new data in a copy of the template and save it as a separate workbook, the wizard automatically adds the data to a database that you specify.

To use the Template Wizard, you must first install it. Then, in the Add- Ins dialog box, select the Template Wizard With Data Tracking check box.

To link templates to dBASE or Microsoft FoxPro databases, you must also install the appropriate Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) driver. In addition, you must select the ODBC Add-In option in the Add-Ins dialog box.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q140458 : XL7: "Unexpected Error" Appears When You Use Template Wizard

The process for using the Template Wizard includes creating a workbook that contains the layout for the data, defining a template based on the layout in the workbook and an associated database, deciding whether to consolidate existing data from separate workbooks, and saving the template and the database.

Creating a Template

  1. Open the workbook that contains the layout of the data columns you plan to use in the template. If you have not created a workbook, do so before you start the wizard.


  2. To start the wizard, on the Data menu, click Template Wizard.

    In the first step in the Template Wizard, you need to define the name of the template. The name of the active workbook appears in the first drop-down list in the dialog box. Note that the list includes the names of all open workbooks.


  3. Click the name of the workbook that contains the layout of the data, and then click Next.


  4. In step 2 of the wizard, in the Database Type box, select the type of database you plan to create. The default is Microsoft Excel Workbook. However, you can select other Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) file types.


  5. In the Database Location And Name box, select a folder location and name for the database file. Click Browse to change the database name or folder location, or to select an existing database that does not appear in the current folder. Then, click Next.


  6. In step 3 of the wizard, define the links between the cells in the workbook and the fields in the database file. To define the links between cells and fields, click the Cell No. 1 box, click the cell in the workbook in which you will type new data, and press the TAB key.

    When you press the TAB key, the wizard automatically types a name in the Field Name box. The name that the wizard uses is determined by the name in the workbook that is above or to the left of the cell that you specified in the Cell box. Note that you can change the name of the field name by typing over it.


  7. Continue to define the links between all the cells in the workbook you want to link to the database, and the fields in the database file. Use a different Cell box for each cell. When you finish establishing the links, click Next.


  8. In step 4 of the wizard, determine whether to merge existing workbooks into the specified database. To merge information, click "Yes, Include." If you do not want to merge an existing workbook, click "No, Skip It."

    NOTE: To merge an existing workbook, the data in the workbook must be arranged in the same format as the template. You can decide to merge an existing workbook at a later time. (See the "Merging Existing Data" section in this article.)


  9. Click Next. Then, in Step 5 of the wizard, click Finish.


NOTE: The Template Wizard automatically saves the template and the database file.

Using the Template

To automatically add data to the database file, you can open a workbook based on the template that you created with the wizard, type new data in the workbook, and save the workbook.

To create a workbook based on the template, follow these steps:

  1. Verify that the template is in the Office\Templates folder.


  2. On the File menu, click New, select the template, and then click OK.

    NOTE: If Macro Virus Protection is enabled, you will receive a macro virus warning. Click Enable Macros to continue.


  3. Type the data you want to add to the database file.


  4. On the File menu, click Save.

    In the dialog box that appears, the following options exist: Create A New Record and Continue Without Updating. When you type new data in the same workbook and save the file again, a third option, Update The Existing Record, appears.


  5. To add the data, click Create A New Record, and then click OK.

    Note that you can use the same workbook to continue adding more data to the database file. To reuse the workbook in this way, retype new data in the linked cells, save the file, and click Create A New Record. You can modify an existing record by clicking Update The Existing Record.


Merging Existing Data

You can merge data from other workbooks either when you create the template or after you create the template.

NOTE: To merge data from another workbook to the database file, the data must be arranged with the same layout as the template. If the data in the workbook has a different layout, the wizard adds a blank record to the database file without displaying a warning message. The worksheet names must also be identical to successfully merge workbooks.

To merge data after you create the template, follow these steps:

  1. On the File menu, click Open, and open the Templates folder (located in the folder that contains Office).


  2. In the Files Of Type box, click Document Templates (*.dot), and open the template you created using the Template Wizard.


  3. On the Data menu, click Template Wizard, and continue to click Next until you see step 4 of the wizard.


  4. In step 4 of the wizard, click "Yes, Include," and then click Next.


  5. In the next dialog box that appears, click Select.


  6. In the Select Files To Convert dialog box, select the workbook that contain the data you want to add to the database file, click Open, and then click Finish.



REFERENCES

"Getting Results with Microsoft Excel for Windows 95," pages 67-72

For more information about the Template Wizard, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel 7.0 Help, type the following text 


   Template


and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Template Wizard" topic.

For more information about the Template Wizard, click Contents and Index on the Microsoft Excel 97 Help menu, click the Index tab in Help, type the following text 


   Template Wizard with Data Tracking


and then double-click the selected text to go to the "What is the Template Wizard with Data Tracking?" topic. If you are unable to find the information you need, ask the Office Assistant.

Additional query words: 97 8.00 xl97 addin 


Keywords          : kbtool kbualink97 kbdta xlwiz xlwin 
Version           : WINDOWS:7.0,97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: April 22, 1999