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Sync formulae in workbooks to master workbook

J

johnnycache

New Member
Hi,


I apologize if this is very simple, but I haven't had much luck searching for the answer. I may just be using the wrong language. However, I am a programmer, so don't shy away from complex answers. I'm just used to object-oriented solutions. :)


Anyway, I have a master workbook which does a ton of calculations as a character generator for a roleplaying game. I make a copy of my master workbook for each new character, using the master like a template. However, whenever I find a bug, or a cleaner way of doing something, I either have to go and update all of the copies as well, or recreate all of them and reenter the data.


Is there any way to get the workbook copies to all reference my master workbook, so when I change a formula there, it is essentially updated across all of the copies? The equivalent of saying, "Hey all you workbooks, in your cell B13 do the SUM of your cells A1:A17." Which would update if I changed those parameters in the master workbook.


Thanks much for your time and consideration.
 
Having faced a similar problem several times myself, I'm sorry to say that there isn't really a good way to "push" updates to workbooks that have been made of copies. That said, alternative ideas:


1. Individual sheets link to master sheet, rather than copying them?


2. Turn the Master workbook into an add-in that everyone can connect to (assumes common network/file location). Jon Peltier started a series on creating add-in if you want more info:

http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/build-an-excel-add-in-1-basic-routine/


3. Have everything contained in one workbook, with multiple worksheets? Not sure how calc intensive things get.
 
Thanks very much for the info Luke, I was afraid that might be the case. Multiple sheets ends up being a poor option when you need lots of copies. Right now, each character's workbook consists of three sheets already just to keep everything in a manageable headspace.


I'll go read up on add-in's though. I haven't come across that yet so maybe that'll do what I want.


Thanks again for the help!
 
Oh I see what you mean. Yeah, I think it's time for me to finally bite the bullet and build an app for what I need. Thanks again!
 
No problem johnnycache (ha ha, just got you name). Sorry it wasn't better news, but good luck on the app!
 
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