XLA Deployment

[Jimmy Jam]

I am deploying in XLA using Nullsoft Installer (NSIS).

I was thinking of just adding the XLA to :
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART

This is the Adobe Acrobat 6 appears to install PDFMaker.xla.
I think the path to XLStart is different on Vista.

What is my best bet for an automatic installation on different Windows NT
based OSs (2000,2003,XP,Vista)
for users with different versions of Office (2000-2007) ?

Thanks a bunch !
Jj

 

[Jon Peltier]

I absolutely **HATE** it when an add-in is installed by storing it in my
XLSTART directory. This means to uninstall the add-in I have to close Excel,
find the file, and move it to another directory. A properly installed add-in
only requires opening Tools > Add-Ins, and unchecking the box, then
reinstalling it only requires re-checking the same box.

The add-in installation directories for Excel 2003 in Windows XP are:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\Library

or

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Microsoft\AddIns

Use one of these, or create your own subdirectory under C:\Program Files\
(if your add-in uses a number of supporting files, like data files or
templates).

Once the add-in is properly stored, then you need to install it as an Excel
add-in.

(1) Give the user instructions on how to browse to it in Tools > Add-Ins,
then check the box.

(2) Use an Excel procedure to install your add-in, as Jan Karel Pieterse
describes here:

http://www.jkp-ads.com/Articles/DistributeMacro10.htm

or

(3) Use advanced features in your installation builder that find and change
the appropriate registry settings.

- Jon