Rather than modify the 56 colors for every new workbook, Episode 527 shows you how to save your color choices in a template so that they will be inherited by all future workbooks.
This blog is the video podcast companion to the book, Learn Excel from MrExcel. Download a new two minute video every workday to learn one of the 277 tips from the book!
This blog is the video podcast companion to the book, Learn Excel from MrExcel. Download a new two minute video every workday to learn one of the 277 tips from the book!
Transcript of the video:
Hey, welcome back to the MrExcel netcast.
I'm Bill Jelen.
Well, yesterday we talked about creating a custom color palette in Excel.
Excel 97 through 2003 was limited 256 colors, but you could change to any colors that you wanted. I'm here I have a color palette that has a lots of reds and yellows along the left hand side and we set that up by going to Tools, Options and then going to the color tab individually clicking each color, click and modify and either choosing a color from the standard list or choosing a color here from custom or actually dragging the slider or coming up with the RGB values lots of different ways to change the colors.
Obviously, this is a very tedious task if you would go through and create your 56 colors, and the bad news is it's attached to only the open workbook.
It doesn't get transferred to all new workbook. It's not an Excel wide setting.
So, the solution here is to save this workbook as a template.
I actually went through and deleted all the data and I'm going to go look at Tools, Options, General.
On the General tab the second to the last box is called At startup, open all files in.
Now, on your computer that's probably blank. I created a brand new folder called XLStartup.
You could call yours whatever you want you can call it fred but enter that folder there, and then we're going to use File, Save As, and instead of saving it as a workbook.
We're going to save it as a template.
Now, as soon as we choose template Excel is navigated down into the templates Folder which is inside of application data, Microsoft shared, and we need to go back to the folder you just specified.
So, C:\Xlstartup.
Once you're there you want to save it as one of two reserved words the most important one is book xlt, book xlt is a special name that's used for all new workbooks anytime you use file new or hit the new icon.
So, we can close everything here File, Close.
I insert a new workbook hitting the new icon and you'll see that we've inherited all of the color settings for my custom palette.
Now, this method will make all workbooks that you ever create have this custom palette you might wanna go through and create several different palettes.
In which case you could do File, Save As, go to the templates and this time just Save it in the templates folder you might call it the RedYellow template and now, you actually have to do File, New.
Over on the right hand side will go to templates on my computer choose the RedYellow template.
And now, you'll inherit that color palette for this use that kind of gives you some more control.
Especially, if you have you know one color palette to use for charting, one color palette to use for this.
You can actually set up the templates.
So, there you have it a way to set up your color templets that way they can easily be reused from workbook to workbook.
Thanks for stopping by.
We'll see you next time for another netcast from MrExcel.
I'm Bill Jelen.
Well, yesterday we talked about creating a custom color palette in Excel.
Excel 97 through 2003 was limited 256 colors, but you could change to any colors that you wanted. I'm here I have a color palette that has a lots of reds and yellows along the left hand side and we set that up by going to Tools, Options and then going to the color tab individually clicking each color, click and modify and either choosing a color from the standard list or choosing a color here from custom or actually dragging the slider or coming up with the RGB values lots of different ways to change the colors.
Obviously, this is a very tedious task if you would go through and create your 56 colors, and the bad news is it's attached to only the open workbook.
It doesn't get transferred to all new workbook. It's not an Excel wide setting.
So, the solution here is to save this workbook as a template.
I actually went through and deleted all the data and I'm going to go look at Tools, Options, General.
On the General tab the second to the last box is called At startup, open all files in.
Now, on your computer that's probably blank. I created a brand new folder called XLStartup.
You could call yours whatever you want you can call it fred but enter that folder there, and then we're going to use File, Save As, and instead of saving it as a workbook.
We're going to save it as a template.
Now, as soon as we choose template Excel is navigated down into the templates Folder which is inside of application data, Microsoft shared, and we need to go back to the folder you just specified.
So, C:\Xlstartup.
Once you're there you want to save it as one of two reserved words the most important one is book xlt, book xlt is a special name that's used for all new workbooks anytime you use file new or hit the new icon.
So, we can close everything here File, Close.
I insert a new workbook hitting the new icon and you'll see that we've inherited all of the color settings for my custom palette.
Now, this method will make all workbooks that you ever create have this custom palette you might wanna go through and create several different palettes.
In which case you could do File, Save As, go to the templates and this time just Save it in the templates folder you might call it the RedYellow template and now, you actually have to do File, New.
Over on the right hand side will go to templates on my computer choose the RedYellow template.
And now, you'll inherit that color palette for this use that kind of gives you some more control.
Especially, if you have you know one color palette to use for charting, one color palette to use for this.
You can actually set up the templates.
So, there you have it a way to set up your color templets that way they can easily be reused from workbook to workbook.
Thanks for stopping by.
We'll see you next time for another netcast from MrExcel.
