XL97: Contents of the Workbook Consolidation Wizard Readme.txt

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

This article contains the contents of the Readme.txt file that is contained in the self-extracting file for the Workbook Consolidation Wizard for Microsoft Excel.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR DOWNLOADING

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:

 ~ Consolid.exe (size: 140512 bytes) 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q119591
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

   ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES/

MORE INFORMATION

MICROSOFT(R) EXCEL 97 WORKBOOK CONSOLIDATION WIZARD

January 1998 (c) Microsoft Corporation, 1998

The Workbook Consolidation Wizard is an add-in program for Microsoft Excel 97 that you can use to consolidate worksheets from one or more workbooks into a single master workbook. Currently the only way to perform this task is to use the Move Or Copy Sheet command on the Edit menu, manually copy the sheets and then paste them, or drag the sheets from one workbook to another one. These methods may require a significant amount of time if you want to consolidate many workbooks or worksheets. Using the Workbook Consolidation Wizard is more efficient than using a manual method because the wizard contains options that make consolidating workbooks easier.

CONTENTS

Wizard Dialog Boxes Instructions Additional Notes Potential Issues Notice

WIZARD DIALOG BOXES

Workbook Consolidation Wizard - Step 1 of 2:

This dialog box contains the following options and command buttons:

• Browse: Locates the folder that contains the files you want to import.

        NOTE: You can select multiple files by pressing the CTRL
        or SHIFT (for adjacent files) key, and then clicking the
        files.
  

• ?: Displays Help information for options in step 1.
• Cancel: Cancels the wizard.
• Next: Proceeds to next step in the wizard.

This dialog box contains the following options and command buttons:

• "Consolidate all workbooks in the source folder": Consolidates all Excel files in the currently selected folder.

        NOTE: This feature overrides any files you manually select by
        clicking Browse in step 1 of the wizard.
  

• "Consolidate only the active sheet in each workbook": Imports only the active sheet in each opened workbook.

        NOTE: When you select this option, "Prompt for which sheets
        to copy in each workbook" is not available because you have
        elected to import only the active sheet in each workbook.
  

• "Consolidate sheets in each workbook": Imports all sheets in each opened workbook.

        NOTE: You can enhance this option by selecting the "Prompt for
        which sheets to copy in workbooks" check box. When you do this,
        you are prompted to select the sheets to import from each
        workbook that is opened for consolidation.
  

• "Prompt for which sheets to copy in each workbook": Allows you to select the sheets you want to import from each workbook you have selected for consolidation.

        NOTE: This option is unavailable if you select "Consolidate only
        the active sheet in each workbook."
  

• ?: Displays Help information for options in step 2.
• Cancel: Cancels the Workbook Consolidation Wizard.
• Back: Displays the "Workbook Consolidation Wizard - Step 1 of 2" dialog box.
• Finish: Starts the actual consolidation process.

  NOTE: When the consolidation process starts, the Process Selected Sheets or Process Sheets dialog box appears.

The Process Selected Sheets dialog box appears when you select "Prompt for which sheets to copy in each workbook" in step 2 of the wizard.

This dialog box contains the following options and command buttons:

• Sheet List: Allows you to select the sheets you want to import.
• Continue: Starts importing sheets that you select from the sheet list.
• Cancel: Cancels the Workbook Consolidation Wizard.

  NOTE: You can cancel the Workbook Consolidation Wizard at any time.

This dialog box contains the following command button:

• Cancel: Cancels the Workbook Consolidation Wizard.

        NOTE: You can cancel the Workbook Consolidation Wizard at any time.
  

• Continue: Consolidates the workbooks or worksheets you specified.

INSTRUCTIONS

After you download Consolid.exe from the Microsoft Software Library and double-click it to extract Consolid.xla, the Workbook Consolidation Wizard, you must copy the wizard and the ReadMe.txt file to the correct folder, and then load the wizard before you can run it.

Installing the Wizard:

To copy and load the wizard, follow these steps:

1. Copy Consolid.xla and ReadMe.txt to the Office\Library folder in the Microsoft Office folder (The default installation folder for Office 97 is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office).

2. Start Excel 97.

3. On the Tools menu, click Add-Ins.

4. Select the Workbook Consolidation Wizard check box and click OK.

NOTE: For performance reasons, do not switch to another program while the Workbook Consolidation Wizard is running. Microsoft Excel must remain the active program until the wizard is finished.

To run the wizard, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Wizard, and then click Workbook Consolidation Wizard.

2. In step 1 of the wizard, select the folder that contains the files you want to consolidate. If you click Browse to view a folder, you can do either of the following:

         Option 1:
   

            Select the folder location to indicate that you want to
            consolidate all Excel files in that folder.
   
            NOTE: You must select the "Consolidate all workbooks in the
            source folder" check box in step 2 of the wizard to complete
            this option.
   
         Option 2:
   
            Select only the files you want to consolidate.
   
            NOTE: If "Consolidate all workbooks in the source folder"
            in step 2 of the wizard is selected, this option is
            overridden, and all files in the selected folder are
            consolidated.
   
   

3. In step 2 of the wizard, specify how you want the wizard to consolidate workbooks or worksheets.

   By default, the currently selected path is displayed at the top of the dialog box.

   In this dialog box, the maximum number of options that can be selected at any one time is three. The following four options are available:

   "Consolidate all workbooks in the source folder"

         Use this option when you want all Excel files in the currently
         selected folder to be consolidated. This feature overrides any
         files you manually select after clicking Browse in step 1 of
         the wizard.
   

   "Consolidate only the active sheet in each workbook"

         Use this option when you want only the active sheet in each
         opened workbook to be consolidated.
   

         NOTE: When you use this option, "Prompt for which sheets to
         copy in each workbook" is not available because you have elected
         to import only the active sheet in each workbook.
   

   "Consolidate sheets in each workbook"

         Use this option when you want to consolidate all sheets in each
         opened workbook. You can also enhance this option by selecting
         the "Prompt for which sheets to copy in each workbook" check
         box. When you do this, you are prompted to select the sheets
         you want to import in each workbook that you opened for
         consolidation.
   

   "Prompt for which sheets to copy in each workbook"

         Use this option when you want to select the sheets you want
         to import in each workbook you select for consolidation.
   

4. In step 3 of the wizard, either the Process Selected Sheets or the Process Sheets dialog box appears. The Process Selected Sheets dialog box appears if you have selected "Prompt for which sheets to copy in each workbook" in step 2 of the wizard.

   If you do not select "Prompt for which sheets to copy in each workbook" in step 2 of the wizard, the Process Sheets dialog box appears in step 3 of the wizard.

   NOTE: You can cancel the Workbook Consolidation Wizard at any time.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• When you start the Workbook Consolidation Wizard, the active workbook is the location in which all imported sheets are placed.
• After you use the Workbook Consolidation Wizard, a sheet named WCW97EndSheet appears. This sheet is inserted by the Workbook Consolidation Wizard as a separator sheet when you import workbook sheets. This sheet is intended to be an organizational aid.

  After the Workbook Consolidation Wizard is finished, all imported sheets appear to the left of this separator sheet. You can delete the WCW97EndSheet separator sheet whenever you like. Each time the Workbook Consolidation Wizard is used, a new WCW97EndSheet sheet is inserted.

        NOTE: If a sheet named WCW97EndSheet already exists when you use
        the Workbook Consolidation Wizard, the wizard does not insert the
        separator sheet and uses the existing sheet as the separator
        sheet.
  

• When the "Workbook Consolidation Wizard - Process Selected Sheets" dialog box is displayed in step 3 of the wizard, objects that are located behind the dialog box may appear with a double image or with a shadow. This shadowing effect may look unusual but does not affect the functionality of the wizard itself. The shadowing effect is typically caused by third-party video drivers while using a high resolution (for example, 800x600 or higher). You can resolve this issue by changing the video driver to Standard video graphics adapter (VGA), which is supplied with Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 95, Microsoft(R) Windows NT(R) Workstation version 3.51, or Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0.
• Excel files that are password protected, contain external links, or use an Auto_Open or Workbooks_Open event are treated as if you manually opened the files. Workbooks that are password protected and workbooks with external links should not be problematic; however, workbooks with macros that automatically run may be problematic. This is true because the procedure that automatically runs may initiate a process that may conflict with a process that the wizard initiates. Microsoft recommends that you disable all macros that run automatically in the workbooks that you want to use with the Workbook Consolidation Wizard.
• The length of time it takes to consolidate workbooks depends on the number of workbooks you want to consolidate, the size of each workbook, and the number of sheets per imported workbook.

POTENTIAL ISSUES

Some links may be created as a result of using this wizard. These links are the same links that are created when you manually copy or move sheets from one workbook to another. The following links may be created: formula links, defined name links, or hidden name links.

You can remove formula links by using information in Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q126093. The title of this article is "Macros to Delete Formula Links." The wizard maintains defined name links in sheets that already contain defined names that link to other sheets. You can remove these links by using article Q138619, "Macro to Delete Defined Names with Links." Hidden name links are used when data from Microsoft Query is returned to a sheet. You can remove these links by using article Q119826, "Macro to Remove Hidden Names in Active Workbook." Article Q136314, "Copying Sheets Between Workbooks Can Create Unexpected Links" is also helpful.

To obtain an article from Microsoft Support Online on the Internet, connect to Support Online at the following Internet address:

      http://support.microsoft.com/support/default.asp

NOTE: Because the Microsoft Web site is constantly updated, the site address may change without notice. If this occurs, link to the Microsoft home page at the following address:

   http://www.microsoft.com/

NOTICE

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

This software, including any accompanying documentation (the "Software"), is provided to you at no additional charge. Microsoft Corporation owns all rights, title, and interest in and to the Software. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of the Software.

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