"Johnno" wrote in message
ps.com...

My preference is not to hide Excel, because it is so hard to put back
properly (and so many home made utilities are so bad at it). I don't care
if
the user knows that Excel is the underpinning of my utility, since most
of
my utilities close gaps in Excel.

- Jon

Thanks. If we leave Excel as the underpinning, is there a way to
overcome the issues to do with Excel 2007 (custom toolbar and charts
not displaying) and the macro security prompts?

If Excel 2007 is the host application, you need to work with the ribbon
rather than with the old commandbars. It's a pain to get started with, but
its actually pretty easy once you've gotten started.

The charts not displaying issue seems to me (based on non-scientific
analysis, like using my memory) to be a problem with Excel 2003 and earlier
charts in Excel 2007. I have not personally observed this problem, but
whether I'm good or just lucky I don't know. If the project is completely
upgrading to 2007, just rebuild the charts. If you have mixed users, then I
have no advice.

The macro security prompts could be a problem in all Excel versions. There
are tricks to get around them. 'Professional Excel Development' by Bullen,
Bovey, and Green discusses this issue.

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
Peltier Technical Services, Inc. - http://PeltierTech.com
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