In order to enjoy all the features that our Excel applications provide, it is necessary to have macros enabled in Excel. You may receive a security warning that the file "contains macros by DJI Computer Solutions." In order for Checkbook for Excel to do its job, you will need to enable the macros it contains. Rest assured that the macros are safe and perform only basic Excel functions. They have been digitally signed and protected to insure that they were created by DJI Computer Solutions. To enable the macros and eliminate future warning for files published by DJI Computer Solutions, check the "Always trust macros from this publisher" check box and click the Enable Macros or OK button. If you are still having problems enabling macros or would like additional information, click this link to our Security page.
Checkbook for Excel provides the ability to directly import Quicken Interchange Format (QIF) files and data from earlier versions of the program. See the program help file for more details. If you want to copy and paste data from an existing Excel file, click on the link below.
Copying data from another Excel file to Checkbook for Excel
Most banks use rather cryptic descriptions for the transactions listed in their download information. Importing this data directly into your ledger can make for a messy ledger. Described below is a method for easily comparing the transactions in your actual ledger with those in the QIF file from your bank and identifying any transactions you might have missed.
This problem only occurred with versions 4.0, 4.0a & 4.0b and was corrected with version 4.0c. The problem was due to several spaces that were padded onto the end of the Category on transactions imported from your Palm device. This prevented the transaction from being summarized on the Ledger Summary and Report Summary since the extra spaces kept the category from being properly recognized. To fix your existing data, use the Edit Transaction function to select the proper version of the category as follows: When you select the category from the Category dropdown list, scroll down the list until you locate the correct unpadded version of the Category and select it. Then click OK to record the edit.
This message occurs when the program is auto-filling the Payment information while entering a transaction and the Transaction Account it is trying to fill with does not have a valid category. To correct the problem and eliminate the message, go to the Transaction Accounts sheet and check each row in the list of Transaction Accounts to make sure the category listed is a valid category that is also listed in the Categories sheet. Edit any Transaction Account that does not have a valid category by double-clicking on it and then substitute a valid category.
Each time you save your Checkbook for Excel file it creates a backup of the previously saved version of the file called "Backup of [file name].xlk. This provides an automatic backup in case your Checkbook for Excel file becomes corrupted. However, since it is saving two copies of the file it extends the time it takes to save the file. Although we do not recommend it, you can prevent the backup file from being created as follows: From the Excel menu, select File - Save As. In the Save As dialog box, click the Tools button and select the General Options and clear the "Always create backup" checkbox and then save the file.
This occurred with the first day release of Version 4.0 on some Excel 97 installations. Download and install the latest version to correct the problem. To check the version number of your existing program, click on the "About Checkbook" tool on the Checkbook Toolbar to display the Welcome dialog. The version number is displayed in the title bar.
The problem was caused by an incorrect code reference in version 3.5 that only affected some Excel installations. The version currently available for download corrects this problem. To check the version number of your existing program, click on the "About Checkbook" tool on the Checkbook Toolbar to display the Welcome dialog. The version number is displayed in the title bar.
Checkbook for Excel automatically anticipates the next check number when a check transaction is entered. In order to maintain this functionality, it is important that you write your checks in ascending order. If you start writing checks from a different book that have lower numbers, the program has no way of knowing and will still anticipate the higher check numbers. To correct this problem, wait until all the higher numbered checks have been marked as cleared. (The checks will be marked as cleared when you balance your checkbook.) Then use the "Archive Checkbook" tool to start a new checkbook file without the higher numbers.
This problem occurred only in the first release of version 4.0 and was quickly corrected with the 4.0a maintenance release. To check the version number of your existing program, click on the "About Checkbook" tool on the Checkbook Toolbar to display the Welcome dialog. The version number is displayed in the title bar.
There was a minor bug on some Excel XP (2002) installations that caused a VBA runtime error 1004 when clicking on the Expense or Income buttons to change an expense or income category. The problem has been fixed in version 3.5c and higher. The latest version can be downloaded from the Checkbook for Excel product page by clicking this link. To check the version number of your existing program, click on the "About Checkbook" tool on the Checkbook Toolbar to display the Welcome dialog. The version number is displayed in the title bar.
The Checkbook for Excel worksheets are designed to fill the full width of your screen when using an 800 x 600 display resolution. If you are using a higher or lower resolution display setting, you will want to adjust the zoom setting so that the worksheets occupy the full width of your screen. Simply select Zoom from the View menu and enter a custom zoom value. You can have different zoom settings for each of the different sheets in the Checkbook for Excel workbook. Experiment to find the zoom setting that works best.
Do not use this procedure if you are upgrading from version 3.0 or greater. Use the "Import Data from a Previous Version" button in the Welcome dialog box instead. This will import the data automatically from more recent versions. See the Checkbook for Excel help file that came with the program for more details.
If you wish to copy your data from version 1.x of Checkbook for Excel it is recommended that you reconcile your existing ledger with your bank statement, clearing as many transactions as possible. Then renew (archive) your existing Checkbook file using the “Archive Checkbook” tool. This will limit the number of transactions that you’ll need to transfer to the new version.
To transfer the transactions to the new version, hold down the “Shift” key while opening the new version of Checkbook for Excel, then open the old version. Ignore any error messages that you might receive when you open the old version. Select the first three columns of the ledger in the old version, starting with the first transaction row and including all the rows for the transactions you wish to transfer. Then select Edit-Copy (or click the Copy icon). Switch to the new Checkbook window and paste the data into the new spreadsheet. Then switch back to the old version and select the last 3 columns (from the check mark column to the “Balance” column, once again starting with the first transaction row and including all the rows for the transactions you which to transfer. Paste this information into the new version, making sure you paste it into the correct columns. You will notice that the row formatting is not correct. Don’t worry, we will fix this in a minute. Now save and close the new version of Checkbook for Excel and close the old version without saving it. Now reopen the new version. Make sure the account information is correct in the “Account Information” dialog box and then click OK. In order to fix the row formatting, enter a dummy transaction into the ledger and then delete it using the “Delete” icon on the “Checkbook Toolbar”. This will force Checkbook for Excel to sort and reformat the ledger.
The "Checkbook" graphic on the opening Welcome splash screen caused Excel to become unstable on some Windows 98 and Windows NT/2000 installations. The graphic has been reformatted to eliminate the problem in version 3.1 and higher. The latest version can be downloaded from the Checkbook for Excel product page by clicking this link.
There was a minor bug on Excel 97 installations that caused a VBA runtime type mismatch error when using the Checkbook Options function when there is no data on the Report sheet. The problem has been fixed in version 3.1b and higher. The latest version can be downloaded from the Checkbook for Excel product page by clicking this link.
If you are running Checkbook for Excel at the time of the HotSync, the imported transactions will not appear until you close and then re-open the Checkbook for Excel workbook. It is better to HotSync before opening Checkbook for Excel.
The error message is typically "Error Message # 429 - Cannot find HotSync Manager" or something similar and it will ask you to please install it. You must have version 4.0 or later of the Palm Desktop HotSync Manager installed on your computer before you can successfully install Checkbook Companion. You can download the complete Palm Desktop application from their web site at www.palmone.com/us/software/desktop/. Once you have installed the correct version of HotSync Manager, you will need to reinstall Checkbook Companion.
The error can also be caused because the COM based conduit installation, which runs as part of the Checkbook conduit installation, does not complete before the Checkbook Conduit installer starts. This will keep it from seeing the HotSync Manager. If you still receive an error message after upgrading to HotSync Manager Version 4.0, try reinstalling the Palm Checkbook Companion again without uninstalling it. If it still fails, try installing it several times in a row without uninstalling it or performing any other tasks in between installation attempts until you no longer get the error message. This will usually solve the problem.
This problem is usually caused by the Palm Checkbook Companion program never having been initialized. Before you can HotSync with the Palm Checkbook Companion application, you need to start it once on your Palm device in order to initialize the related Palm databases. Simply start the program on your Palm device and then exit and try to HotSync again.
The registration code is case sensitive so make sure you enter it exactly as it appears using the capital letters. Also, if you have Excel set to manual calculation, your registration code will not work. Select Tools-Options from the Excel menu, go to the Calculation tab and set Calculation to automatic. You will then be able to successfully enter your registration code. You can then set Calculation back to manual if you desire.
We do not support these types of modifications to the program so you must make these changes at your own risk. Also, please make a copy of your program before making these modifications. That way if things do not go as planned, you can revert to a previous copy.
This problem is caused by a bug in Office/Excel 97 and you can correct the problem by downloading the latest patches for Office 97. The bug is due to a program installing a newer version of the Office Automation files (including OLEAUT32.DLL) that is not completely compatible with Excel 97. You can determine which Excel patches you need to apply by reading the Microsoft Knowledgebase article Q232652 at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q232652
If you are experiencing frequent crashes in Excel 2000 or Excel 2002/XP, use the Detect and Repair option on the Help menu to verify that your Excel installation has not been damaged and the Office automation features are still intact. You can also go to Microsoft's Office web site and use the Office Update feature to install the latest patches. When installing the latest patches, Excel's macro security policy will be modified without your permission. Click this link to our Virus Protection page for more details.