MacXL: How to Convert an Add-in File into a Workbook

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To convert an add-in file back into a normal workbook, follow these steps:

1. On the File menu, click Open. In the Open dialog box, select the add-in file that you want to convert, and click Open.
2. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Visual Basic Editor (or press OPTION+F11).
   
   In the Project Explorer window in the Visual Basic Editor, entries similar to the following appear:

   Project name (Add-in file name)

   where Project name is the name of the Visual Basic project, and Add-in file name is the name of an add-in file.
   
   For example, entries similar to the following appear:

   MyAddIn (Test)

3. Click the arrow (>) to the left of the entry for the add-in file.
4. If you are prompted for a password, type the password, and click OK. Otherwise, skip to step 5.
   
   NOTE: If you do not know the password for the add-in file, you cannot convert it into a normal workbook. If you know who created the add-in file, ask the creator for the password. Otherwise, you cannot continue.
   
   Entries similar to the following appear in the Project Explorer window:

       MyAddIn (Test)
          Microsoft Excel Objects
          Modules
   					

5. Click the arrow (>) to the left of Microsoft Excel Objects.
   
   The tree should look similar to the following:

        MyAddIn (Test)
           Microsoft Excel Objects
              Sheet1 (Sheet1)
              Sheet2 (Sheet2)
              Sheet3 (Sheet3)
              ThisWorkbook
           Modules
   					

6. Click ThisWorkbook.
7. On the Tools menu, click Project name Properties.
8. On the Protection tab, click to clear (uncheck) the Lock project for viewing check box. Clear both the Password and Confirm password boxes, and then click OK.
9. In the Properties window of the Visual Basic Editor, click IsAddin. In the box to the right of IsAddin, change the value from True to False.
10. On the File menu, click Close and Return to Microsoft Excel.
    
    The worksheets and chart sheets in the add-in file (if it contains any) should be visible.
11. On the File menu, click Save As.
12. In the Save As dialog box, click Microsoft Excel Workbook in the Save File As Type list (Excel 98), or click Microsoft Excel 2001 Workbook in the Format list (Excel 2001). Type a new name for the workbook (for example, Test) in the file name box. Click Save to save the add-in file as a normal workbook.
13. After you save the workbook, click Close on the File menu.

The add-file is converted to a workbook that you can open, view, modify, and save, just like any other workbook. Note that this process does not modify the add-in file.