USER GUIDE Developed and published by Expedience Software Copyright 2012-2017 Expedience Software
Excel Connect Contents About this Guide... 1 The Style Palette User Guide 1 Excel Connect Overview... 2 Excel Connect Responds to an Excel RFP inside Word 2 How to Install Excel Connect... 3 Quick Start Summary 3 Open Excel Connect 3 Responding to an Excel RFP in Word... 4 Create a Word Table from an Excel Worksheet 4 Merged Cells 8 Tips for Using Expedience Ribbons in Word Tables 9 Inspecting Excel RFP Data Restrictions... 10 Inspect Spreadsheet Restrictions 10 Inspect Cell Restrictions 12 Formatting Content for Export to Excel... 13 Inserting in versus Pasting on 13 What is Lost in a Typical Copy/Paste in Excel? 13 Set Export Formatting Options 14 Make Content Excel-Ready 15 Inspect Word Cell Character Count 17 Export from Word to Excel... 18 Mapping Word Table to Excel Spreadsheet 18 Export Word Content into Excel... 21 Export Word Cell into Excel 21 Export Word Table into Excel 23 Export to New Table in Excel 25 Help Resources... 26 Online Help 26 Customized Help 27 About Expedience... 28 Ribbon Information 28 Ribbon Management 30 Appendix 1... 32 Set Word Permissions 32
About this Guide About this Guide The Style Palette User Guide The Style Palette User Guide contains descriptions of the features of the Expedience Excel Connect Ribbon. Other Expedience Guides can be found at the Expedience Website by going to the Help Menu on any Expedience Ribbon. The following symbols appear to highlight topics of special interest: Tip Troubleshooting User Guide The Style Palette User Guide 1
Excel Connect Overview Excel Connect Overview Excel Connect Overview Expedience Excel Connect is a Microsoft Word Ribbon that imports an Excel RFP spreadsheet into a Word Table, allowing you to use the complete functionality of Microsoft Word while responding to the RFP: Search questions and insert content from your Expedience Content Portfolio Ribbon Activate Word s track changes feature to support collaborating with SME s and Reviewers Apply bullets and numbering Use other Word features not available directly from Excel Inspect Excel worksheet for data restrictions Export from Word to Excel Create Word table from Excel Adjust formatting for Excel Excel Connect Responds to an Excel RFP inside Word Excel Connect can inspect Excel RFP worksheet and data restrictions directly from Word, check on the character counts of your answers, and export answers from Word back to Excel. Excel Connect matches the questions between Word and Excel to ensure that the answer is inserted in the correct location, and checks that the answer meets the data restrictions placed on the cell before inserting. User Guide Excel Connect Responds to an Excel RFP inside Word 2
How to Install Excel Connect How to Install Excel Connect Quick Start Summary Expedience Ribbons are Word Templates (.dotm files) that can be stored and accessed from anywhere on your personal computer or from any network location. The Expedience User Ribbons do NOT require a Registration ID. You open an Expedience Ribbon in the same way you open any other Word file. To begin, follow the steps below: Locate your Expedience Ribbon (.dotm) files Open the desired Ribbon file and begin using Expedience Setting Trust Levels. Because Expedience Ribbons are based on Word Macro files, you may receive warnings while using the product to ensure you are aware you are using Macros. To avoid these messages you can set Word s options to trust Expedience ribbons. To do this see the instructions in Appendix 1. Open Excel Connect You open the Expedience Excel Connect Ribbon file in the same way you open any other Word file. Using Word s File menu, simply click Open and browse for the Ribbon file. The file will have a.dotm extension. The Ribbon will install automatically. User Guide Quick Start Summary 3
Responding to an Excel RFP in Word Responding to an Excel RFP in Word Create a Word Table from an Excel Worksheet Opening the Excel RFP The target Excel RFP can be opened directly or through the Excel Connect Ribbon. Select the Open Excel RFP dropdown to browse to a spreadsheet. Once opened, a link to the Excel RFP will be added to the recently used menu to make it easy to switch between Excel RFPs. Click Clear Excel List to remove links from the menu. Copying from Excel into Word Sheets or portions of sheets in an Excel RFP can be imported by simply selecting the relevant area in Excel and copying to the Clipboard. Once the Excel sheet or portion of the Excel Sheet has been copied, switch back to the desired Word document and click the Paste Spreadsheet button. NOTE: Multiple sheets can be pasted into the same Word Document. When Excel Connect Pastes the copied spreadsheet it will do the following: Change the document orientation to landscape Preserve the formatting of the original Excel Sheet to the extent possible Insert a hyperlink to the Excel Workbook and sheet above the Word Table User Guide Create a Word Table from an Excel Worksheet 4
Responding to an Excel RFP in Word Linking to the Excel RFP To link to a sheet in an Excel RFP, Select the sheet or a portion of a sheet and copy to the clipboard. Switch to the Word document. Click the Excel Connect special Paste Spreadsheet button. Excel Connect will insert the copied sheet into a Word document, prefaced with a hyperlink back to the original. Multiple Excel Sheets in one Word document Using the Excel Connect Paste function, you can insert multiple Excel sheets or partial sheets into a single Word document. Excel Connect will preface each one with a hyperlink to the original. In this way you can quickly map Word tables to their target Excel sheets. User Guide Create a Word Table from an Excel Worksheet 5
Responding to an Excel RFP in Word Adding or Deleting Rows and Columns Once you have inserted the desired section of the RFP into the Word document, you can delete unnecessary rows and columns. As long as you do not alter the question or requirement text, the Word table does NOT need to match the Excel sheet. How to Handle Multiple Excel Sheets You may have multiple Word tables for a single Excel Sheet. However, you cannot combine multiple sheets into a single Word Table. The Excel Connect operates on a single sheet at a time, which must be open and active. To accommodate multiple Excel sheets, create separate Word tables. Exporting Locked Sheets On occasion an Excel Spreadsheet may be protected against selecting locked cells, making it impossible to directly copy and paste the Excel RFP into Word. One method for exporting a locked sheet into Word is to first save the spreadsheet as.csv or Comma delimited file. This will create a plain text, unformatted copy that can be copy-and-pasted into Word. Another method would be to use the Expedience RFP Inspector tool, a Microsoft Excel based tool that allows you to inspect an Excel RFP or other spreadsheet for data restrictions and criteria, even if the Spreadsheet is protected. This tool also lets you to generate an Excel workbook based on the current locked workbook. The conditions and restrictions will be listed in the relevant cells. These unlocked sheets can then be copy-and-pasted as described above. For more information on the Expedience RFP Inspector go to www.expediencesoftware.com/excel-rfp-inspector.html User Guide Create a Word Table from an Excel Worksheet 6
Responding to an Excel RFP in Word Using Expedience RFP Inspector to Generate an RFP Report The Expedience RFP Inspector tool can generate an Excel workbook based on the current locked workbook. To generate the report click Inspect Workbook on the RFP Inspector Ribbon. A copy of the RFP Workbook is generated. The conditions and restrictions will be listed in yellow: Because this worksheet is now unlocked, you can insert a new column to hold the answers. This new worksheet, with the additional column, can be copy-and-pasted into the Word document, providing you with a clear reference for all the cell restrictions that apply. For more information on the Expedience RFP Inspector go to http://www.expediencesoftware.com/excel-rfp-inspector.html. User Guide Create a Word Table from an Excel Worksheet 7
Responding to an Excel RFP in Word Merged Cells Because of the requirements of Mapping, vertically merged cells merging that spans multiple rows is NOT supported by Excel Connect. Columns with merged cells can be removed or unmerged, either through Excel before pasting into Word or through splitting the cells using Word. If you are using the Excel Inspector before pasting into Excel Connect, unmerging the cells there is quite fast and easy. Horizontally merged cells cells that span multiple columns do not pose a problem. Horizontal Merging is allowed Merging across columns supported Vertical Merging is NOT allowed Merging across rows NOT supported User Guide Merged Cells 8
Responding to an Excel RFP in Word Tips for Using Expedience Ribbons in Word Tables Search and Insert Content from Portfolio Once the Excel RFP has been copy-and-pasted into a Word document, your Expedience Content Portfolio Ribbons can be used to search questions and insert answers. You can open your Content Portfolio directly or select from the Portfolio dropdown on the Excel Connect Ribbon Once the Portfolio is opened it will appear as another ribbon tab on Microsoft Word You may select and search questions using the Content Portfolio, just as you do in any Word document. However, you do need to position the cursor in the desired answer table cell before inserting. All Portfolio features are fully functional from within the table, including automated placeholders. NOTE: Content Controls, the tools used for Placeholder automation, are NOT supported in Excel. User Guide Tips for Using Expedience Ribbons in Word Tables 9
Inspecting Excel RFP Data Restrictions Inspecting Excel RFP Data Restrictions Inspect Spreadsheet Restrictions In many Excel RFPs, cells that are not used for RFP responses, such as questions and instructions, are locked against editing. To lock cells from editing in an Excel Worksheet requires two steps: Lock the cells Protect the sheet When you protect an Excel worksheet, you are presented with a list of options and ability to set a password: If a sheet is password protected you will not be able to view the restrictions. A protected sheet may prevent cell formatting, images, and other features. Unfortunately, if a sheet is protected, which is commonly the case with Excel RFPs, there is no way to determine which options are set directly. The options only appear when you protect a sheet, so are not available to the responder of the RFP. Fortunately, it is possible to inspect a Worksheet from Excel Connect. To do this, click the Worksheet Restrictions button. User Guide Inspect Spreadsheet Restrictions 10
Inspecting Excel RFP Data Restrictions Excel Connect will inspect the active worksheet and provide a summary. The summary report displays the: Name of the active Excel file and spreadsheet tab The protection status (protected or not) A warning if the worksheet contains settings that affect the locking of cells The types of restrictions placed on the worksheet (formatting, images, etc.) The number of cells containing data validation restrictions For more information on Excel protection, data validation, and self-locking cells visit the Expedience BLOG: http://www.expediencesoftware.com/blogs. User Guide Inspect Spreadsheet Restrictions 11
Inspecting Excel RFP Data Restrictions Inspect Cell Restrictions Excel RFP s often come with answer restrictions seldom seen in Word based proposals such as requiring the answer to be selected from a list or not to exceed a specific character limit. One of most frustrating challenges in answering Excel RFPs is not knowing if or what restrictions have been placed on the RFP answer cells. This is because there is no simple way to inspect a protected Excel RFP using Excel alone. Unless the RFP Issuer has provided this information in the RFP question or instructions for that cell, you must discover these requirements cell-by-cell through error messages received when the requirement is not met. Fortunately, it is possible to inspect a cell from Excel Connect. To do this, click the Current Cell Restrictions button. You can also access this function, and others, by right+clicking in the cell. At the top of the pop-up menu you will find shortcuts to several Excel Connect features: To identify the correct cell in Excel to Inspect, you will be prompted to map the question and answer columns of the Word table to the corresponding question and answer columns in the Excel spreadsheet. (See Below). In the following example the cell contains a character limit restriction: User Guide Inspect Cell Restrictions 12
Formatting Content for Export to Excel Formatting Content for Export to Excel Inserting in versus Pasting on Excel Connect inserts the answer content into the Excel answer cell, in the same way as inserting text into the Excel formula bar. This ensures that if the text contains multiple lines and/or tabs, it will be contained inside the single answer cell, instead of spilling over into multiple rows and columns. This also means that the font will assume the formatting of the target cell. This is different from pasting content on top of a cell in Excel. Pasting on preserves the source formatting but will break across rows and columns if it contains lines and tabs. In some cases it can also trigger the automatic self-locking on cells on protected sheets. What is Lost in a Typical Copy/Paste in Excel? When copying and pasting content from Word inside a cell in Excel, a number of formatting problems may occur: Tabs and indents are removed Bullets are removed or replaced Images disappear Fonts take on formatting of the cell Content Controls are removed User Guide Inserting in versus Pasting on 13
Formatting Content for Export to Excel Set Export Formatting Options To overcome the limitations of Excel formatting, Excel Connect offers several Excel formatting options: You may choose to have Excel Connect include images (if permitted), add spacing between paragraphs, and to reformat Word bulleted lists to conform to Excel s limitations: Reformat content to be compatible with Excel before export. Add spacing around images and export with text. Add paragraphs between lines to preserve spacing. Remove trailing paragraph marks at the end of the cell. Replace with bullets that will display in Excel. Add spaces after bullets to preserve indenting in lists. You may choose to have this Excel-Ready formatting done automatically. Or, you may select content in Word and have it re-formatted directly. NOTE: If you have not already set formatting options before exporting to Excel, you will be prompted to do so. User Guide Set Export Formatting Options 14
Formatting Content for Export to Excel Make Content Excel-Ready Once your formatting options are set, you may select content and click the Make Content Excel-Ready button. NOTE: It is recommended to format BEFORE exporting if the table is lengthy or has complex formatting. Standard bulleted lists will be reformatted from a choice of Excel compatible symbols. Non-supported tabs and indents will be replaced with spaces. In the following example, the Word Table contains a list: Word When copied and pasted directly into Excel, the bullets are not recognized and the indent is lost: Excel In the following example the list has been reformatted to make it Excel-Ready. When inserted into Excel it now preserves the bullets and the indent: Word & Excel User Guide Make Content Excel-Ready 15
Formatting Content for Export to Excel Images can present another challenge in pasting from Word to Excel. Unlike text, images cannot be pasted In a cell. Unlike Word, images are never inline. They always float above the sheet. To copy paste images that are part of other text, you must first copy/paste the text In the cell, then copy/paste the image On the cell and position accordingly. If the image is formatted to be inline, square, or tight with the text, this will require resizing the Excel cell to accommodate. In the following Word table example, an image is positioned square with the text: In order to prepare the content for Excel, the image is reset as In front of text and paragraphs added to make space for the image: This Word table cell will now be ready for export into Excel. User Guide Make Content Excel-Ready 16
Formatting Content for Export to Excel Inspect Word Cell Character Count Inspecting the current cell restrictions will indicate if there is a character limit restriction applied to the cell in Excel, as well as the current character count of the cell in Word. You can also perform a quick character count by clicking Word Cell Character Count. This will provide a quick count for the currently mapped cell: User Guide Inspect Word Cell Character Count 17
Export from Word to Excel Export from Word to Excel Mapping Word Table to Excel Spreadsheet The first time you use the Excel Connect Ribbon to inspect or export content to Excel you will be prompted to map the columns between the Word Table and the Excel Spreadsheet. You can also open the mapping form directly by clicking on the Map Word Table to Excel button: The Mapping form will open: Map Question Columns Map Answer Columns User Guide Mapping Word Table to Excel Spreadsheet 18
Export from Word to Excel The Mapping screen displays the: Name of the active Excel file and spreadsheet tab The rows in the Excel Spreadsheet that will be included in the mapping (defaults to the used rows but can be confined to a smaller set) Mapping of one question column in Word to one question column in Excel Mapping of up to three answer columns Click Save Settings to retain the mapping. The mapping will be retained throughout the session as long as the same spreadsheet is active. You do NOT need to manually map the rows between the Word table and Excel spreadsheet. automates the process of finding the correct row in Excel in the following way: Excel Connect Finds where the cursor is placed in the Word table Selects the question from the Word question column Searches for the exact match in the Excel question column Locates the matched Excel row and the mapped Excel answer column User Guide Mapping Word Table to Excel Spreadsheet 19
Export from Word to Excel Troubleshoot Mapping Errors Mapping may fail when Excel Connect has problems attaching to the Excel workbook. If this occurs you will receive the following message: If this occurs simply close and reopen Excel. If this problem persists please contact the Expedience Helpdesk. support@expediencesoftware.com Mapping may also fail if Excel Connect cannot find the question from the Word table in the Excel spreadsheet. If this occurs you will receive the following message in a message box or in the comment pane: This may occur if the wrong spreadsheet tab is opened in Excel. Confirm that the correct tab is selected and try again. This can occur if some slight change has been made to the question text in either the Word table or the Excel spreadsheet. User Guide Mapping Word Table to Excel Spreadsheet 20
Export Word Content into Excel Export Word Content into Excel Export Word Cell into Excel Once content has been entered into the answer cell in Word, in can be exported directly into the matched answer cell in Excel by clicking on Export Word Cell in Excel: The content from the selected answer cell in Word is copied and processed to make it compatible with Excel. The matching question is located in Excel, and the content inserted into the corresponding answer cell. How to Validate Success If a Word table cell is successfully exported into Excel, the border of the table cell turns green to indicate success: When a Restriction Error Occurs If a Word table cell is NOT successfully exported into Excel, the border of the table cell turns red to indicate the failure and the precise reason for the failure is indicated in the comment pane. In the following example the content in the Word cell exceeds the required character limit in Excel: User Guide Export Word Cell into Excel 21
Export Word Content into Excel In the following example the Word cell contains text not contained in the required dropdown list in Excel: After repairing the answer, simply re-export to Excel. The error will be removed from the comment pane and the border turned green. A quick check of Excel shows that the answers appear in the correct locations: User Guide Export Word Cell into Excel 22
Export Word Content into Excel Export Word Table into Excel Of course the ideal objective is to export multiple answers at a time. Insert the cursor anywhere in the table to select the entire table or manually select the rows in the Word table that you want included. If no rows are selected, you will be prompted to confirm that you intend to export the entire table: User Guide Export Word Table into Excel 23
Export Word Content into Excel The mapping screen is reopened. The Export Table screen contains the following information: Confirms the name of the active workbook and worksheet tab Display the rows in the Word table that will be included in the search Confirms the mapping of question and answer columns Confirms the Word rows included in the export Map Question Columns Map Answer Columns Export Rows Click Run Export to begin the export. Each cell will be processed, matched, and inserted, in the same way as the single cell export: Success will be indicated with a green border added to the exported cell Failure will be indicated with a red border added to the cell, along with a detailed description of the data restriction that caused the failure listed in the comment pane User Guide Export Word Table into Excel 24
Export Word Content into Excel Export to New Table in Excel There may be cases in which you may want to export an entire Word Table into Excel. To do this place your cursor in the source Word table and click Export to New Table. Excel will be opened if not already open and a new sheet made with the Word Table. If Excel is already opened and a blank sheet is active, that sheet will be used for the Export. Otherwise a new sheet is created. The same pre-export formatting options will apply. User Guide Export to New Table in Excel 25
Help Resources Online Help Help Resources From the Help Menu, you can access several online resources: The Expedience Help site contains User Guides, FAQ s, and access to the online Help Desk: You can also access the Expedience Blog, that contain many articles on using Microsoft Word and Excel, and proposal best practices. User Guide Online Help 26
Help Resources Customized Help Like the Content Portfolio Galleries, the Help menu can also contain a Gallery of content loaded for your specific company. If your Ribbon Administrators choose to do so they can load a variety of background information or proposal instructions into the custom Help Gallery: Unlike a regular Content Gallery, when a Help Gallery item is clicked it is displayed in a separate pop-up Preview Window. User Guide Customized Help 27
About Expedience About Expedience The final button on the Ribbon is the menu is the About Expedience dropdown menu. This menu provides general Ribbon information and management tools. Information Management Ribbon Information About Expedience About Expedience displays an information screen on the Ribbon Software Version: User Guide Ribbon Information 28
About Expedience About Excel Connect Software Version Pathname can be copy & pasted User Guide Ribbon Information 29
About Expedience Ribbon Management Author Registration If you have received an Expedience Author License you can register as an Author from the About Expedience menu from any Expedience Ribbon. Enter your company and contact information. The product code will be generated automatically. Click Register and a Registration ID will be emailed to you. Copy the ID into the ID box and click Save. Enter your information and click Register. Paste in ID from email and click Save. Close Ribbon Close Ribbon uninstalls the Current Ribbon without requiring Word to be closed. User Guide Ribbon Management 30
About Expedience Save Ribbon Shortcut in Start-up Folder If you would like the current Ribbon to load automatically every time Microsoft Word is opened, you can save a short-cut to the Ribbon in Word s Start-up folder. Because locating the Start-up folder can be difficult, the About menu includes functions to add the Ribbon short-cut to the Start-up folder for you and to find and display the Start-up folder. To save the current Ribbon to the Start-up folder, click on Save Shortcut in Start-up Folder. Once the Shortcut has been saved you will receive the following confirmation: Show Word Start-up Folder Click Show Word Start-up Folder to view the folder. You will find a Shortcut to the current Ribbon: NOTE: Because it is Shortcut, not the original Ribbon, you can remove the shortcut even if the Ribbon is open. User Guide Ribbon Management 31
Appendix 1 Appendix 1 Set Word Permissions 1. Open Microsoft Word Options Trust Center In Word, Select Trust Center and Trust Center Settings : 2. Set Macro Access Select Macro Settings and check Trust Access to VBA Project. User Guide Set Word Permissions 32
Appendix 1 3. Set Folder as Trusted Select Trusted Locations and click on Add new location button. (If the folder resides on a network, check Allow Trusted Locations on my Network. ) Browse for the folder that contains your Expedience automated templates. Make sure that you check the Subfolders checkbox and click OK. User Guide Set Word Permissions 33