XL97: Unable to Share Custom Lists

In Microsoft Excel, there is no built-in or simple way to share a custom sort/fill list that you create in Microsoft Excel.

In Microsoft Excel 97, custom lists are more difficult to share because they are stored in the Microsoft Windows Registry. In Microsoft Excel version 7.0, custom lists are stored in <username>.xlb; in version 5.0, they are stored in Excel5.xlb. Both of these files are stored in the \Windows folder.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To move a custom sort/fill list to another computer or user, you must export a Windows registry subkey. To locate and export the registry subkey that keeps the custom sort/fill list in Microsoft Excel, follow these steps:

1. Quit Microsoft Excel.
2. On Start menu, click Run.
3. In the Run box, type regedit and then click OK.
4. In the left pane of Registry Editor, locate the following subkey (folder):
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Excel \Microsoft Excel
5. Select the subkey listed in step 4.
6. Back up the registry entry you currently have for this registry subkey. On the Registry menu, click "Export Registry File." In the File Name box, type a name for your backup, and then click Save.
7. In the right pane of Registry Editor, click the first item in the Name column, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last item in the Name column.
   
   This selects all entries for the subkey specified in step 4.
8. Hold down CONTROL and then click "SmartList" in the Name column.
   
   This clears the selection of just this item.
9. Click Delete on the Edit menu. Click Yes to confirm deleting the values. After it finishes deleting items, if you see the error message
   Unable to delete all specified values
   click OK.
   
   This removes all other keys except the desired item and the default key.
10. On the Registry menu, click "Export Registry File." In the File Name box, type a name for this registry file.
    
    NOTE: You must choose a different name than the name you used in step 6.
    
    This is the registry file that you give to the computers that will share the custom sort/fill list.
11. Reset your registry setting for the key specified in step 4. On the Registry menu, click "Import Registry File" and in the "Import Registry File" dialog box double click the registry file that you saved in step 6.
12. On the Registry menu, click Exit.
13. Copy the registry file that you saved in step 10 to a floppy disk or to a shared network directory.
14. On the computer to which you want to copy the custom sort/fill list, repeat steps 2-5.
15. On the Registry menu, click "Import Registry File," and locate the registry file that you copied in step 13.
16. On the Registry menu, click Exit.
17. Start Microsoft Excel.
18. Click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the Custom Lists tab.
    
    The custom list you created is displayed under Custom Lists.

For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

For more information about creating a custom sort or fill list, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel 97 Help, type the following text and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Create a custom fill series or sorting order" topic.