Does anyone have a little .xla or something that defaults any spreadsheet to manual calculations when opened, instead of calc'g it ?
Yeah, irritating, innit? There IS usually a way around it though which involves no VBA code at all.
As I understand it Excel will adopt the calculation setting of the last opened file at startup, though since calculation is a
global setting (rather than a workbook one) it will ignore the settings of any
subsequently opened files.
(The calculation mode is apparently buried somewhere in the file, even if it's not an exposed property.)
The secret is therefore to make sure that the last-opened file at startup has a manual calculation mode.
Most people don't open files at start-up (aside from the odd .xla perhaps) but rather start with a blank workbook, the ubiquitous "Book1". What you therefore have to do is make sure that the blank workbook has a manual calculation setting.
Unless you specify otherwise, Excel will use its own internal settings for blank workbooks, including automatic calculation. To substitute your own, you need to create a new global template as follows:
- Close down any workbooks that you have open in Excel;
- Open up a new blank workbook;
- Change its calculation setting to Manual;
- If you feel inclined, take the time to make any other changes that you like. Don't like Arial 10 as the default font? Redefine the Normal style. Want 4 sheets instead of 3? Add one, and so on.
- Find the folder called xlStart. This will typically be on a path like
C:\Documents and Settings\{UserName}\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART
- Save the modified workbook as an Excel template (.xlt) file named Book.xlt (
NOT Book1.xlt, just book.xlt)
Thereafter when you open a session of Excel, the blank workbook that opens should have all of your updated styles and settings... including the manual calculation mode.
