OPENn= Statement in EXCEL4.INI Fails if not in Sequence

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 4.0, 4.0a

SUMMARY

When you load add-in macros in Microsoft Excel by specifying an OPENn= statement in the EXCEL4.INI file (where n is a number that specifies the order in which the add-in is to be opened), the macro may not be loaded if one number in the OPEN= sequence is missing.

This is by design of Microsoft Excel.

MORE INFORMATION

Each OPEN= statement, except the first, is followed by a numeric value (that is, OPEN=, OPEN1=, OPEN2=, and so on). For example, if the OPEN1= statement is missing from the sequence, the next add-in in the sequence, OPEN2=, will not be loaded when you start Microsoft Excel.

As long as each number is represented in the sequence, the OPEN= statements can be in any order in the EXCEL4.INI file.

Some add-in macros may appear to load even though they are out of sequence. This may occur because they are entered in the Init Commands section of the EXCEL4.INI file. The Init Commands section places entries in the menu when Microsoft Excel is started. The Add-in Manager creates entries in the Init Commands section if the add-in macro contains the defined name with "__Command" (without the quotation marks). For further information on this defined name, query in the Microsoft Knowledge Base using the following words:

   "init" and "open=" and "add-in" and "demandload" and "manager"

The Add-in Manager does not check to see which add-in macros are actually in memory; instead, it checks the OPEN= statements in the [Microsoft Excel] section, and all entries in the [Init Commands] section of the EXCEL4.INI.