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Limitations of Global Templates and Excel Add-ins (.xla Files)

Documents, workbooks, and templates might not work correctly as global templates or Excel add-ins (.xla files).

Applies to: The information in this topic applies to document-level projects for the following applications: Excel 2007 and Excel 2010; Word 2007 and Word 2010. For more information, see Features Available by Office Application and Project Type.

Word Templates

If a Microsoft Office Word template has managed code extensions, the project assembly is not called if the template is attached as a global template or loaded from the Startup directory of Word. In addition, the document does not recognize the format of a template that is part of an Office solution.

Excel Add-Ins (.xla Files)

There is no Office project for creating an Excel add-in (.xla file). It is possible to save a workbook as an .xla file, but it is not a supported operation and is not recommended. If you save a workbook that has managed code extensions as a Microsoft Office Excel Add-In (*.xla) file, you can select it in the Add-Ins dialog box to apply to another workbook. In some cases your code will run in the target workbook after the add-in is applied, but such use of the Office solution is not supported.

See Also

Concepts

Getting Started Programming Application-Level Add-Ins

Document vs. Template Solutions

Other Resources

Office Project Templates Overview

Designing and Creating Office Solutions