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View Full Version : Solved: Problems Distribute Excel Add-Ins in a high demand environment



yNver
04-12-2008, 10:05 AM
I'm glad there is such an active VBA community. :thumb

Version: MS Excel 2000 and soon upgrading to 2003.
Add-In Purpose: these add-ins need to be updated accross hundreds of users at any given time. The add-ins are using Active X and some other libraries to basically output an excel driven data table for the user to view.
Problems: All the add-ins are still in development and near to complete. I've thought that a networked hard drive may work and just add-in the .xla file to Excel to each of the users having a installation file. The problem with this is that every time they open Excel it goes to my strained hard drive and downloads about 500 Kb * 20 different add-ins. (500 Kb x 20) x 100 This solution will never work. The users use Excel every moment of every day and I can't make opening Excel as long as installing Windows.

Right now the Installation .xls file installs a drop down menu on the main bar so the user can access the add-ins functionality.

What you want to do: Is there any way to make Excel only download the .xla add-in when the user presses the button in the drop down menu? Then remove the add-in once Excel is closed so that it doesn't download it the next time Excel is opened. Or even reference to that particular file on my networked hard drive? I really need a user friendly way to access these add-ins.

On another note I found that Install and Uninstall add-in events sometimes don't seem to fire. Are there known bugs?

Thank you very much for any help! It is greatly apprichiated.

mdmackillop
04-12-2008, 10:20 AM
Have you seen this article (http://vbaexpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10855)?

Bob Phillips
04-12-2008, 12:56 PM
Why not just have a tiny add-in that builds a menu of other apps (not addins, straihjt xls files), and just code it to load when clicked. In other words, forget multiple addins.

yNver
04-12-2008, 03:45 PM
Why not just have a tiny add-in that builds a menu of other apps (not addins, straihjt xls files), and just code it to load when clicked. In other words, forget multiple addins.

Never thought about that, I think that is the best possible solution. Thank you.