Try putting them in your template folder.

For me (xl2003/winXP home), it's:
C:\Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates\

You can double check yours by:
start excel
hit alt-f11 to get to the VBE
hit ctrl-g to see the immediate window.
Type this:
?application.TemplatesPath
and hit enter.

Ken wrote:

I have template files in my office11\xlstart folder, but when i click NEW and
select templates on my computer, the templates won't open.

--

Dave Peterson