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In Search of Microsoft Excel

I’m not sure if you previously had Excel and lost a shortcut or if something when awry and Excel can no longer be found. Perhaps you had a trial version of Microsoft Office on your PC but can no longer access it. Maybe Excel works fine but the data has been lost? In the meantime, let’s see if we can’t poke around and find your wayward program.

Trial Versions of Excel

If you downloaded a trial version of Microsoft Office or Microsoft Excel, it will eventually expire though it shouldn’t completely disappear. Once expired, Microsoft will want their money. Usually, when the trial period ends, you will be prompted to upgrade to the licensed version.

Missing Excel Shortcut

Many computer users become so accustomed to launching their favorite applications in a certain way, such as by clicking on a Desktop icon, that they forget that there are other ways to start the program. For example, if a Desktop icon no longer launches Excel (icons and shortcuts can and do fail), you can still launch your program using other methods. First, try the Start menu. Go to Start, Programs, and then scroll for Excel.

If the Start menu no longer lists Excel, right-click the Start button and choose Explore. This opens Windows Explorer where you can navigate to the Microsoft Office folder. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Microsoft Office\Office12\excel.exe. (Note: C is the hard drive. If you have a different drive letter, make the adjustment. Also, “Office12″ is the version of Office. You may have a slightly different version such as “Office10″.)

If found, clicking the excel.exe file will launch your Excel program. Want to create a fresh shortcut? Right-click the file instead and choose Create Shortcut.

Launching Excel from the Run Line

You can also enter a command directly into the Run line of your computer and launch Excel that way. Go to Start >Run and type in excel.exe. Depending on your operating system, you may have to type in cmd first to open a Command Prompt window. From there, enter excel.exe.

If you have Windows Vista, try entering the word “Excel” directly in the Start menu’s Search bar. Now, look in the results pane and you should see Excel listed under programs. Click the icon and Excel will launch.

What if Excel is Corrupt?

If you can find Excel but it doesn’t want to cooperate, the program files could be corrupt. Fortunately, Microsoft Office comes with some built-in repair tools. In versions prior to 2007, these tools were called Detect and Repair. In Office 2007, they are called Microsoft Office Diagnostics. You can read more about using these tools here:

• Detect and Repair
• Microsoft Office Diagnostics

Microsoft Templates

Fortunately, Microsoft Word comes with a variety of templates for creating specific document types. For example, if you need to create a flyer, dozens of pre-designed templates exist. Likewise, if you want to create invoices, greeting cards, memos, agendas, calendars, postcards, business cards, contracts, newsletters, resumes, or even legal pleadings, Microsoft Word has already done the difficult part of formatting basic documents. All you need to do is load the template and customize it.

Using the Legal Pleading Template in Microsoft 2003

The process is a bit different for Microsoft Word 2007 and earlier versions. Let’s start with Word 2003 before moving on to Word 2007. First, go to File and then choose New. A task pane appears. Look for Templates and then select On my computer. Click on the Legal Pleadings tab. This launches the Legal Pleadings Wizard. Follow the prompts.

Note: you may need to install the wizard from your original Word 2003 discs if it is not showing up in the Templates dialog box.

Using the Legal Pleading Template in Microsoft 2007

The process is a bit different in Word 2007 thanks to a complete redesign by Microsoft. If you have Word 2007, you’ll need to go to the Office button and then click New. A template list appears. This list is extensive and you probably won’t find the Legal Pleading template through simple browsing. Instead, use the Search tool. Enter “Legal Pleadings” into the Search tool while connected to the Internet. This will search Microsoft Office Online for the relevant documents. Your copy of Word 2007 will be verified to make sure you are using a valid copy before you can download the template.

You’ll see dozens of templates with several Legal Pleading templates listed at the top. For example, you can choose between legal pleading documents with 28, 32, 25, and 26 lines. In addition, dozens of other legal document templates are listed. Make your selection and the template will be downloaded to your computer.

Once downloaded, you can make your changes and save the template to your computer for future use.

The Excel Template

It sounds to me as if somehow a file was saved as the default template. While Excel normally loads a blank workbook, if a template has been created and is stored in the Excel system startup folder, Excel will load that workbook every time you go to create a new file such as by using File > New.

Double Check the Excel Startup Folder

First, let’s check to see if there’s a file in the Excel Startup folder. Go to:

 C:\ Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\xlstart

Is there an Excel file inside this folder? Is it the file in question that usually displays when you start Excel? If so, this is the culprit. Try moving the file to your My Documents folder instead and see if Excel won’t load a blank page. If so, problem solved. If not, let’s create a new template of our own and place it in the xlstart folder.

Creating a Default Excel Template

This trick can be useful if you have your own preferred fonts and information that you’d like to have as standard elements in all of your Excel spreadsheets. In your case, you’ll need to start out with a blank Excel workbook. Since your version keeps loading the same workbook, you can either delete the existing sheets and add new blank sheets so that you start out with an empty workbook.

Once you have an empty workbook, if you want to add any custom fields such as inserting a company logo, you can do so. Just keep in mind that all of your future spreadsheets will come pre-populated with this information, so don’t overdo it or you’ll be in the same boat.

Now, go to File >Save As. Browse to the C:\ Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\xlstart folder and name your file book. Choose the file type to ‘save as’ as a template, or *.xlt. Now, the next time you open Excel, the book.xlt template should open along with it.

Why System Restore Didn’t Work

System Restore is a useful utility for restoring your system to a previous state. However, many people mistakenly believe it will restore everything. It does not restore programs or data - only system files. For example, if an operating system file like a device driver or DLL file gets deleted, System Restore is an excellent choice. But if someone were to delete a document or program, System Restore wouldn’t have any effect because it is not designed for those purposes.

Why Data Backups Won’t Work

If you regularly back up your computer, you may be tempted to restore Microsoft Word from your backup media. Unless you have a sophisticated backup system such as a mirrored hard drive, a backup isn’t likely. Most computer users back up their data files only, not applications. After all, most people have their original installation CDs nearby.

Data Recovery Tools

Data recovery software can recover deleted files including program files. However, programs such as Microsoft Word have so many files located in various folders that a data recovery software solution may be more difficult than it’s worth. It’s possible in a pinch and if you use a product such as Paretologic Data Recovery to do it, run the scan and check both the Folders and Other Files section.

Your Best Bet for Recovering Microsoft Word

If you have the original installation disks for Microsoft Office, your best bet is to reinstall Word. It doesn’t take long and it won’t overwrite your saved data. If you originally downloaded Word from Microsoft or it came preinstalled on your computer, you may have a few challenges as far as reinstalling Word.

First, if you downloaded and purchased Microsoft Office from Microsoft’s website, you can certainly do so again but you will need your original confirmation code in order to avoid having to repurchase the product. Try checking your e-mail to find the original purchase confirmation email from Microsoft. If you didn’t delete that e-mail, you should be able to download a fresh copy and install it using your original order’s confirmation code.

If not and other Microsoft Office products such as Excel weren’t deleted, you can easily find your Office 2007 product key by going into the other application such as Excel, clicking the Office button, choosing Excel Options, and clicking About Excel. This information is available in the Help >About menu for earlier versions of Office. While the product key is different than the confirmation code, it may be helpful to have this number when you call Microsoft Tech support for help. They may be able to look up your license and confirm that you have a valid license. You can get help from Microsoft by going to the Help and Support center.

If your computer came preinstalled with Microsoft Office from the computer manufacturer, contact your manufacturer for assistance. This web page lists contact information for various manufacturers.

Hopefully, you have the original Word or Office CD and can easily reinstall the program without having to jump through hoops.

It sounds like we have two issues. The first one is how to delete tables and the second one is why your blank document contains the tables in the first place. Both are easy to do.

How to Delete Tables in Word

When you have a table that you no longer want in Word, the familiar Delete key on your keyboard doesn’t always work. For example, if you highlight the text within the table and click press “delete,” only the text within the table is deleted, not the table itself. Instead, you can select a blank line above and begin highlighting from there to the bottom of the table with your mouse. This selects the entire table. Now, press the Delete key and the table should disappear.

Another way you can do this is to “cut” the table out. First, click inside the table or hover over it with your mouse briefly. See the tiny square box with a cross mark in it that appears on the upper left just outside of the table? Click that. That will select the entire table. Now, right click it and choose “Cut.” The table will disappear.

How to Change the Normal.Dot Template

For some reason, it appears that your default blank page has a table in it. Whenever you load Word, it opens the Normal.dot template which is basically a blank page. The easiest thing to do is to delete the existing Normal.dot file and let Word create a new one which it will do the next time you start Word. This new Normal.dot file will have the default settings from Word which should not include a table.

Normal.dot is located in C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates. Simply close Word, locate and delete this file, and restart Word.

Another option is to go into Word, open the Normal.dot file, delete the table, and then save it with the change. While you’re editing the Normal.dot file, you can make changes such as the default font type, too. For example, if you prefer Times New Roman over the default Calibri font, simply change the font in the font list to Times New Roman before saving the document.

What is Microsoft Word SmartArt?

This question relates to using SmartArt in Word 2007. SmartArt graphics are diagrams that you can use to illustrate various concepts such as organization charts or flow charts. Once you choose a SmartArt type, you have a basic diagram that you can customize. For example, each diagram type has several different layouts from which to choose. The basic template has areas marked with the word “[Text]” to indicate where the text goes. In addition, several different SmartArt Styles allow you to further tweak the layout such as by giving the diagram a three dimensional look. Within the SmartArt Styles section is an option to change the color scheme. This is where Accent 1 comes into play.    

Creating a Basic SmartArt Graphic

To create a SmartArt graphic, go to the Insert tab and click SmartArt. Pick the type of chart that best meets your needs and click OK. This will insert an editable graphic and insert a SmartArt Tools option across the top of the Word Ribbon. Click the SmartArt Tools option and you’ll see all of the options available including “Change Colors” which will then list the built-in “Accents.”

SmartArt Accents

SmartArt accents are predesigned color schemes that affect both the color of the boxes of the diagram as well as the text. For example, Accent 1 features a blue color scheme while Accent 2 is more of a maroon and pink color combination. Depending on the SmartArt Style selected, your text may be black or white. The text color is preset and changes based on your selections. To apply an accent, click on your SmartArt graphic, click the SmartArt Tools option, and then click on the Change Colors icon. From there, you can select any of the preset Accents such as Accent 1.  

Changing the Look of the Text

If you like the look of Accent 1 but would prefer a different color of text or even text of the same color, you can override the defaults and change it manually. You’ll need to go back to the Home tab and manually select the desired font, size, and other attributes. Normally, you could use predefined styles to change the look of the text but this option is removed when working with SmartArt text.

When changing the color of the text, simply click the text box, click the colored “A” on the tool bar, and make your selection. You’ll notice that the top row of colors is labeled “Theme Colors.” These colors match the various Accent colors. So, if you want the same blue for your text as the Accent 1 blue, go to the top row of colors and select it. The colors below are various shades of the theme’s colors. So, if you wanted a darker shade of the same color, choose the darker shade.

SmartArt diagrams can greatly enhance your document and are easy to customize. Play around with the various styles, layouts, and color schemes and see for yourself. If you don’t like the changes, the Reset Graphic icon will undo them.