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The Microsoft Excel Version 4.0 EXCEL4.INI File
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When you install Microsoft Excel version 4.0, the Setup program creates a file named EXCEL4.INI in the same directory as your WIN.INI file. Each time you start Microsoft Excel version 4.0, it checks the EXCEL4.INI file for startup settings. For example, you can use the EXCEL4.INI file to specify documents that you want opened automatically, whether you want gridlines to appear in new worksheets, or what font you want as the default font.
Editing the EXCEL4.INI File
---------------------------
Using almost any text editor or word processor, you can edit the EXCEL4.INI file to customize your startup settings if you want to; however, you don't have to edit this file to use Microsoft Excel. When
you are finished editing the file, you must save it as a text file without any formatting. For changes to the EXCEL4.INI file to take effect, you must then restart Microsoft Excel.
Note: If you install Microsoft Excel 4.0 on a network, Setup creates an
---- EXCEL4.INI file on the drive and directory where you installed
Microsoft Excel, in addition to the EXCEL4.INI file it creates in
the directory containing your WIN.INI file. Do not edit this
additional EXCEL4.INI file; it is for network purposes only. To
change your startup settings, edit only the EXCEL4.INI file that
is in the same directory as your WIN.INI file.
WIN.INI and the EXCEL4.INI File
-------------------------------
In previous versions of Microsoft Excel, you could customize some startup settings by editing the [Microsoft Excel] section of the WIN.INI file, and customize other settings by editing the EXCEL.INI file. If you already have a [Microsoft Excel] section in your WIN.INI file, its contents -- except for OPEN= statements specifying documents you want opened automatically -- are used to create the EXCEL4.INI file during installation of Microsoft Excel 4.0. Methods for specifying documents you want opened automatically are described later in this file. The contents of an existing EXCEL.INI file are not used to create the new EXCEL4.INI file. You must open and edit your EXCEL4.INI file to include any settings from your EXCEL.INI file. After installation, Microsoft Excel version 4.0 ignores the [Microsoft Excel] section of the WIN.INI file and the EXCEL.INI file.
Keeping the .INI File for Previous Versions of Microsoft Excel
The name of the .INI file for Microsoft Excel version 4.0 is different from the name of the .INI file for previous versions (EXCEL4.INI rather than EXCEL.INI). Therefore, you can specify startup settings for version 4.0 without changing your startup settings for earlier versions of Microsoft Excel.
Note: You must use one of the following methods even if you specified
---- the documents in the [Microsoft Excel] section of your WIN.INI
file for an earlier version of Microsoft Excel.
You can use either of the following methods to specify documents that you want opened each time you start Microsoft Excel. For each document that you want opened automatically:
^ Place the document in the XLSTART directory. During installation,
the XLSTART directory was automatically created in the directory
in which Microsoft Excel was installed.
--or--
^ Enter an OPEN= statement in the [Microsoft Excel] section of your
EXCEL4.INI file. For example, enter OPEN=c:\win\excel4\budget92.xls
to open BUDGET92.XLS automatically.
When entering an OPEN= statement, you can also enter any combination of the options described below to change the way the document is located or the state Microsoft Excel is in after it starts. Enter these options to the right of the equal sign in the OPEN= statement. For example,
OPEN= /r c:\win\excel4\budget92.xls opens the file BUDGET.XLS as read-only every time Microsoft Excel is started.
To enter more than one OPEN= statement, you must number them sequentially. For example, OPEN=, OPEN1=, OPEN2=, and so on. The OPEN statements must appear in ascending numerical order.
/f Fast-load
Places template documents in the New dialog box on the File
menu. When used for a document containing custom functions,
places those functions in the Paste Function dialog box. When
you use one of the custom functions in a specified document,
the macro sheet containing the function is opened.
/r Read-only
Opens the specified document read-only.
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Specifying Sets of Random Numbers
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If you want Microsoft Excel 4.0 to generate a unique set of random numbers each time you use the RAND function, enter RANDOMIZE=1 in the [Microsoft Excel] section of your EXCEL4.INI file.
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Setting the Default Font for Microsoft Excel
--------------------------------------------
To set the default font and font size used for new worksheets, enter FONT=font name,font size in the [Microsoft Excel] section of your EXCEL4.INI file. For example, FONT=MS Sans Serif,10. The font name you enter must be the name of the font spelled exactly as it appears in the dialog box when you choose the Font command from the Format menu. In Microsoft Excel 4.0, the FONT statement sets the default font used for the Normal style, for row and column headings, and for text in the Info window.
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Setting Other EXCEL4.INI Options
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You can set the following options with the Options3= line in the EXCEL4.INI file. For example, you can enter Options3=8 to automatically turn cell note indicators off each time you start Microsoft Excel.
2 Alternate navigation keys on
4 Lotus Help on
8 Cell note indicators off
32 Global macro sheet exists
16384 Gridlines in new sheets off
To specificy more than one of these options, add together the numbers for the options you want. For example, Options3=6 turns on both alternate navigation keys and Lotus Help.
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Specifying a User Name
----------------------
With the USER= line, you can enter a user name for your copy of Microsoft Excel. Then, if you are using a shared document and someone else on the network tries to open it, the alert message is displayed with the user name you specified.
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Specifying a Custom Dictionary
------------------------------
With the CUSTOM DICT= line, you can specify the name and location of custom dictionaries you want to use with Microsoft Excel. The following example points to the file "custom.dic" at the specified path location.
CUSTOM DICT 1=c:\windows\msapps\proof\custom.dic
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Specifying Automatic Formatting Options
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With the AutoFormat= and AutoFormat Options= lines, you can specify a particular default formatting choice to be used when the AutoFormat tool is clicked. For the AutoFormat= line, type a number to specify the format you want. The formats are numbered 1 through 14 according to the order in which they appear in the list in the AutoFormat dialog box.
The AutoFormat Options= line controls which formatting attributes are applied for the format you specified in the AutoFormat= line. The formatting attributes correspond to the options in the AutoFormat dialog box. The values for the formatting attributes are:
Number 1
Font 2
Alignment 4
Border 8
Patterns 16
Width/Height 32
For example, enter AutoFormat Options=10 to specify that just the font and border properties of a format are applied. The number 10 is the sum of 2 (font) and 8 (border). The default value for AutoFormat Options is 63, the sum of all of the numbers, indicating that all of the formatting properties are applied.
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Defining Custom Menus and Custom Commands
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You can use the [Init Menus] and [Init Commands] sections to define custom menus and commands. These custom menus and commands appear every time you start Microsoft Excel, and enable you to load add-in macro sheets or standard macro sheets after you choose the custom command.
[Init Menus]
------------
<Keyword>=<bar>,<new_menu>,<menu_pos>
<Keyword> A unique keyword, such as Solver1, that Microsoft Windows uses to identify menus and commands added by an INI file.
<bar> The number of the built-in menu bar to which you want to add the menu or command.
<new_menu> The name of the new menu.
<menu_pos> The position of the new menu on the menu bar. May be the name of the menu after which you want to place the menu, or a number indicating the menu's position from the left of the menu bar. For example, you would type 3 to place the menu third from the left. If omitted, the menu appears at the end of the menu bar.
<bar> The number of the built-in menu to which you want to add the menu or command.
<menu> The name of the menu that contains the new command.
<command_name> The name of the new command.
<macro_text> The command added to a menu by the EXCEL4.INI file should open an add-in macro sheet. <Macro text> is a reference to a macro on the add-in macro sheet that you want to open. Choosing the command opens the macro sheet and runs the macro specified by macro_text. The macro should delete the command created by EXCEL4.INI and replace it with a command that runs a macro that performs actions associated with the command.
<cmd_pos> Position of the command on the menu. May be the name of the command after which you want to place the new command, or a number indicating the command's position on the menu. If omitted, the command appears at the end of the menu.
The following example shows how Solver could add two commands to built-
in menu bar number 1.
[Init Commands]
Solver1=1,Formula,Solver...,c:\windows\solver.xlm!Auto_Open,,,Find model
solutions,Help!35
Solver2=1,Edit,Edit Solver,c:\windows\solver.xlm!Edit,,,Edits a solver
scenario,Help!35
[Delete Commands]
-----------------
In the [Delete Commands] section of your EXCEL4.INI file, you can delete
built-in Microsoft Excel commands. The syntax of the line to delete
commands is:
<Keyword>=<bar>,<menu>,<menu_pos>
The definitions of <keyword>, <bar>, <menu> and <menu_pos> are the same
as those given in the [Init Commands] section above.
Note: Don't delete the Exit command on the File menu unless you've
---- included another way to exit Microsoft Excel.
