Introduction

The Workbook Library stores Excel workbooks as templates - a budget model, a reporting pack, a project tracker. From the library you can start a new workbook from a template, or add some or all of its sheets to the workbook you already have open.

It is the Excel counterpart of the Presentation Template Library and the Word Document Library.

Save a Workbook

Open the workbook you want to keep as a template.
In the presentaid ribbon, go to Workbook Library → Save Library.
Give it a name and choose the library and folder to save it into.

The whole workbook is saved, with all its sheets. The thumbnail shows the top-left part of the first sheet.

Macro-enabled workbooks

Workbooks with macros (.xlsm) are stored as .xlsm and keep their macros. They are marked with a macro badge in the top-right corner of their thumbnail, so you can tell them apart before opening them.

Other formats such as .xlsb, .xls or Excel templates are converted when you save them: they are stored as .xlsm if they contain macros and as .xlsx otherwise.

Note: A new workbook you have not saved yet is still a macro-free workbook, even if you have added macros to it. presentaid warns you before saving - save it as .xlsm first if you want to keep the macros.

You can also add existing files without opening them: in the library window, select a folder and click "Load Local File to Library".

Start a New Workbook from a Template

There are three ways to open the library:

In the presentaid ribbon, click Workbook Library → Show Library.
In Excel's File menu, click "Find corporate template" on the Home page.
Create a new blank workbook - if the library contains templates, it opens automatically.

Double-click a template, or select it and click "Open as New Workbook". Excel creates a new, untitled copy, so the template itself is never changed and Save asks you where to put your own file.

If you open the library for a new blank workbook and pick a template, the empty workbook is closed again automatically.

Note: You can switch off the automatic pop-up in the presentaid settings ("Show Workbook Library when starting a new workbook"). In organizations, this setting can be managed centrally.

Add Sheets to the Open Workbook

Open the workbook you want to add the sheets to.
Open the library, select a template and click "Insert Sheets".
Choose which sheets to add - all of them are selected to begin with - and click Insert.

The sheets are added at the end of the workbook. presentaid takes care of the details:

Situation	What happens
A sheet name already exists	The new sheet gets a number, exactly as when Excel copies a sheet: "Data" becomes "Data (2)". The picker shows the new name before you insert.
Formulas between the added sheets	Keep working and point to the added sheets, even when those were renamed.
Formulas pointing to a sheet you did not add	Keep their last value instead of turning into a link to the template file. You get a short message when this happens.
A defined name exists in both workbooks	The definition already in your workbook wins.
Hidden sheets	Stay hidden.
Macro-enabled template	Only the sheets are added, not their VBA code. Your workbook keeps its file type - an .xlsx stays an .xlsx.

Careful: Excel cannot undo adding sheets through an add-in, so the inserted sheets cannot be removed with Ctrl+Z. If the structure of your workbook is protected, presentaid cannot add sheets and tells you so.

Default Template

One template in the library can be the default. Right-click a template and choose "Set as Default". In Excel's File menu, "New spreadsheet" on the Home page then opens that template. Without a default, it opens Excel's blank workbook.

If your organization uses a company library, the default is set there by whoever has write access to it.

The Workbook Library behaves like every other presentaid library. Next to your local library you can use a team or company library on SharePoint, so everyone works from the same templates. See How to Work with Shared Libraries.

How to Work with the Excel Workbook Library