executable installation program

[jgoulart]

What are some solutions to distributing excel programs. Is there an inexpensive way to have a program install the files in a directory that is predetermined and enable quick launches for the excel file? Any direction or tips would be apprecitated.

John

[Jack in the UK]

Hi ==

Are you trying to get non excel people to open excel files if that use X not excel, if so Msoft do FREE viewers from hompage on the web so can add that if sending will install to MS Office and open excel docs but can act as exel as program is viewer only... no editing.

[jgoulart]

No, not really, I'm trying to have an installation program that will make it simple for non-computer literate people to install the excel vba files in directories that pick and install quick launches on the desktop and the start bar.

If the VBA files are part of the spreadsheet being distributed it would seem easy enough for a person to right click the excel file in question and choose "send to desktop as a shortcut" from that menu, or am I missing something here?

[Joe Was]

You can buy program installers, but these are best for applications which contain several files, dll's, icons, manuals and a installation preview slide show. For the basic Excel application, no run-time or packager exists or what is reported to be one like the microsoft viewer do not allow for the actual operation of the application, you can only view the sheet, change some entries, but not run formulas or macros.

Microsoft to compete with the runtime packagers for other database products does make a pakager, which is included in the developer edition of Office, that will add all the system files and a non-buildable version of Access database applications to a non Office system. This packager is reported to also work to some extent with Excel by Microsoft. I have personally discussed this with the Microsoft development team. In therory it should work, but no one has been able to actually get it to work with a fully populated Excel application, as the library files used in the packager look for commen office files and Access files, so some of the Excel files are ignored by the packager. I have not found any packager for installing Excel applications on a non Excel system.

I have written VBA code to build an application on an Excel system, Build the workbook, forms, buttons, macros and formatting automatically a sample of this was posted by me on the old board a few months back. VBA also will let you write to and update the windows registry, so you could write your own installer, but the system you install to would need to have Excel installed beforehand. JSW

[gplhl]

You could use winzip to create a series of exe files that will extract certain excel files to certain folders.
If you create the zip files first and then make each exe for each different directory that you want files extracted too.

Finally at the end put all your exe files into one zip file and create an exe from that zip file that extracts to an installation folder on the desktop or somewhere.

If you are making this for people who aren't too familiar with excel or computers make a README.txt file to include with in the installation folder.

This way is a bit long winded but it does work, I have used it myself.