Save user-defined chart types in a shared Excel template?

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Guest

I am trying to create a template to be distributed throughout the company to
aid in the creation of standard charts -- colors, patterns, fonts, etc.
Unfortunately, Ihave not been able to get the user-defined chart types to
save with the template. Is it possible to do this? I'm new to Excel, so I
hope I'm just missing something.
 
I am trying to create a template to be distributed throughout the company to
aid in the creation of standard charts -- colors, patterns, fonts, etc.
Unfortunately, Ihave not been able to get the user-defined chart types to
save with the template. Is it possible to do this? I'm new to Excel, so I
hope I'm just missing something.
Click to expand...

Sadly, I believe the best you can do in Excel is send out a template
with the standard charts in it, then instruct all the recipients in how
to save those as user-defined chart types in their own Excel setup. It's
a strange failing on the part of Microsoft, to have failed to provide a
way of distributing user-defined chart types around an organisation.

It might be possible to send out the file in which the user-defined
charts are stored, and instruct people in how to install it in the
appropriate location, but that will end up replacing whatever
personalised file they themselves have created, and many people may be
unhappy with that.
 
Thanks. That's what I was afraid of.

Del Cotter said:
Sadly, I believe the best you can do in Excel is send out a template
with the standard charts in it, then instruct all the recipients in how
to save those as user-defined chart types in their own Excel setup. It's
a strange failing on the part of Microsoft, to have failed to provide a
way of distributing user-defined chart types around an organisation.

It might be possible to send out the file in which the user-defined
charts are stored, and instruct people in how to install it in the
appropriate location, but that will end up replacing whatever
personalised file they themselves have created, and many people may be
unhappy with that.
Click to expand...
 
I posted code a couple years ago that automated this process. The code and
the custom chart types resided in a workbook which was to be distributed to
those who needed the chart types. You could search Google Groups for my name
and keywords like distribute custom chart types.

- Jon
 
I KNOW HOW TO DO THIS!!
Finally I can help somebody out after getting help from this forum as a
lurker for years.

OK, the file that gets created/populated with the user-defined charts is
called XLUSRGAL.xls .

You will have to copy this file to the correct location in Documents and
Settings on each individual system in order for the users to have access to
your chart templates. Here's my path C:\Documents and
Settings\"username"\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel

Obviously "username" is what you replace with each user's name. I've shared
and modified user-defined charts and successfully shared them between 3
systems this way.

props to Chip who originally discovered this one,
A
 
No offense, but you don't know how to do this. Your process will overwrite
each user's custom chart gallery. Not a graceful deployment mechanism. If
someone did this to me, I would be very upset.

Here is a link to my post from a couple years back, in which I described how
to distribute user defined chart types with a workbook and a small macro. No
users' charts are harmed by this process.

- Jon
 
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