Rapid Application Development / Advanced Excel Development

Excel xll Add-in Development

There is considerable confusion about xlls, what they are and how to create them. This section aims to clear up some of the confusion and raise the profile of this important, but often over-looked technology.

For details of our custom xll User Defined Function development service please go here.

We can also offer training and coaching in xll development.

Xll Series Contents

(note this is a work in progress - more pages will be added and linked too as and when we have time to complete them to an acceptable level)

• Series intro (this page)
• Brief introduction to xlls - what, why, etc.
• The Codematic xll base project
• Installing Visual Studio C++ 2008 Express.
• Installing the Excel Xll SDK for use with Visual Studio 2008 (C++ Express)
• Very brief overview of C and C++ editors (VS2008)
• Creating a simple dll
• Debugging xlls
• Introduction to XLM.
• Using CALL to access external dll functions from XLM
• Registering dll functions for use from a worksheet cell - using XLM and VBA
• The XLOPER data type and xlcall.h
• The Excel4() function and xlcall.h
• Converting a dll to xll by adding in the registration information
• The Microsoft xll Software Development Kit and framework.
• The Codematic custom xll development service

Base project

Here is a base xll project (in C) to get you started. It contains a single UDF that takes two arguments and returns the total. It is in Visual Studio 6 format which every version since can open and translate fine. You do need a C/C++ version of Visual Studio though, like for example the free Visual C++ Express 2008. It requires the Excel SDK files (available free from the Microsoft site) be in the include path or the same folder.

If you require any more information please get in touch.