QI Macros Technical Support Questions


© 2007 KnowWare International, Inc. DBA LifeStar
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We have found that many customer questions are actually about Excel or statistics, not the QI Macros. If you have these kinds of questions, check these FAQ pages:

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Problems Running a Training DVD

The Six Sigma Simplified and SPC Simplified training DVDs require that you have some kind of media player loaded on your PC. If you have a media player loaded it should automatically begin playing the DVD.

If you don't have a media player, download one free at:

Once you have a player loaded, insert your DVD into the drive. If it doesn't automatically play or prompt you to open the player then:

  • Open the media player and select File/Open
  • Double click on the DVD drive
  • Double click on the Video_TS folder
  • Double click on the Video_TS.VOB file (if you don't see this file, make sure you are viewing all file types)
  • The DVD should begin playing.

Note: If you have problems with Windows Media Player and Real Player, try WinDVD.

Windows XP allows you to set your computer to automatically play a DVD.

  • Without the DVD in your drive, double click on My Computer
  • Right click on the DVD drive and select Properties
  • Click on the Autoplay tab
  • Select DVD Movie on the pull down menu
  • Then select a default player

DVD / VHS Formats

There are three video formats used around the world:

  • NTSC - used in America and Canada
  • PAL - used in Western Europe and Australia
  • SECAM - used in Eastern Europe and France

All of our training videos are in NTSC format. Your VHS or DVD players must be able to play NTSC format to view our videos.

If you are not sure which format is used in your country, Google "PAL NTSC" and you will find several sites with information by country and much more information.

QI Macros 30 Day Trial

You may have received an expiration notice after only one day.

Early versions of the demo failed to recognize the difference between regional differences in date formats: mm/dd/yy, dd/mm/yy, yyyy/mm/dd.

To get a corrected version, email lifestar@rmi.net and request the revised demo.

Installation Instructions PC

  1. Close Excel
  2. Double click on the QI Macros setup.exe file to run the installation wizard.
  3. Open Excel, you should see "QI Macros" on your menu bar.

If the installation wizard ran correctly and you don't see QI Macros on your menu bar, Excel may have disabled the file. To enable the file, click on Help, then About Microsoft Excel. Enable qimacros.xlm, zqimenu.xlm or any other macro.

Test data for the charts is located at c/programfiles/qimacros/test data. You can use these spreadsheets or your own data to practice with the charts.

Basically you just select your data, go up to the menu bar and select the chart you want to run. Templates like the FMEA, Gage RR and DOE can be accessed by choosing the Fill-in-the-blanks Templates from the pull down menu.

XL Start Folder Contents

The QI Macros is loaded in the XLStart folder at c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office(10,11,12)\Xlstart. Depending our your version of Excel and the QI Macros your XL Start folder should contain the following files.

If you are having problems accessing the menu or templates and your XLStart folder contains some kind of temporary file, delete the temporary file and see if this solves the problem.

QI Macros versions after Feb 2007

Excel 2007 and QI Macros 2007

QI Macros versions from Feb 2006 to Jan 2007

Excel 97 to Excel XP:

QI Macros versions prior to Feb 2006

Won't install in correct Version of Excel

If you have two or more versions of Excel on your PC, the installer assumes that you want to put the QI Macros in the most recent version.

If you buy a new machine, for example, that comes with a 60-day trial of the latest Office programs and then install Office 2000, XP, or 2003, Windows still wants you to try the new version! If you want to change this you can update the registry:

  1. Click on Start-Run and type "regedit"
  2. Click on the + for HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
  3. Scroll down until you find Excel.Application and click on it's + sign.
  4. Click on CurVer. You should see something that looks like this:

  5. Double click on (Default) and change the version to:
    • Excel.Application.9 (XL 2000)
    • Excel.Application.10 (XL XP - 2002)
    • Excel.Application.11(XL 2003)
    • Excel.Application.12 (XL 2007)
  6. Reinstall the QI Macros (this won't work with the 30-day trial).

Alternatively, find where the QI Macros were installed and move them to the correct folder.

  • XL 2000 - c:\program files\microsoft office\office\xlstart
  • XL 2002 - c:\program files\microsoft office\office10\xlstart
  • XL 2003 - c:\program files\microsoft office\office11\xlstart
  • XL 2007 - c:\program files\microsoft office\office12\xlstart

Installation Problems - PC

Symptom: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXEC.NT System file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Windows Applications.

These are specific operating system files that will prevent installation. Acording to Microsoft, the file is either missing or corrupted. See:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;305521

Resolution: Restore missing file, reinstall Excel or email us and we can send you an alternate way to install the QI Macros.

Symptom: Cannot find ???.DLL

There are specific operating system files that, when unintentionally removed from a client's system directories, will cause damage or unpredictable symptoms to occur. These symptoms can include corruption, crashing, failure to reboot, or slow processing. Some of these files have binary information that prevents them from being copied.

Resolution: Restore missing file, reinstall Excel or email us and we can send you an alternate way to install the QI Macros.

Win16 .dll files: USER.DLL, KERNEL.DLL, SHELL.DLL, TOOLHELP.DLL, VER.DLL, LZEXPAND.DLL, GDI.DLL, KEYBOARD.DLL, COMMDLG.DLL, WIN87EM.DLL, DDEML.DLL,

Win32 .dll files: COMCTL32.DLL, COMDLG32.DLL, USER32.DLL, KERNEL32.DLL, ADVAPI32.DLL, GDI32.DLL, DSKAPI32.DLL, ICM32.DLL, IMM32.DLL, LZ32.DLL, RICHED32.DLL, SHELL32.DLL, SAGE.DLL, VERSION.DLL, WINSPOOL.DRV, WINMM.DLL, URL.DLL, LINKINFO.DLL, SHLWAPI.DLL, SHDOCVW.DLL, SHFOLDER.DLL, WSOCK.DLL, WININET.DLL.

Other Install Problems:
Excel looks in the XLSTART directory when it first starts up to determine if there is anything there to load. The QI Macros must be in this directory stored in the correct sequence for Excel to function properly. Of course, Microsoft never puts things in the same place and your local tech support may have installed Excel in a non-standard directory. You can load the macros using Windows Explorer, but first you have to know where they go.

To check if they were loaded in the directory, from the Excel Window Menu select UNHIDE. This will give you a list of the Macros if they are in the XLSTART directory. If not, they were not installed in XLSTART. So, cancel the Unhide and do the following.

Office 97

Office 97, 2000, XP, 2003, 2007

Other versions should be stored in c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Xlstart. If not, use Start-Find File to locate xlstart.

Network Install
Network Install
All Versions of Excel

If installing on the network server, change macro permissions to ReadOnly and install in server XLSTART folder.

If installing on your PC, but loading Excel from the network:

  1. Run a:setup.exe to load the QI Macros onto your hard disk. It will put them in c:\qimacros\xlstart. Copy this folder to your network drive.
  2. Start Excel
  3. Go to Tools-Options-General on the menu bar (Excel-Preferences-Options in OS X).
  4. Enter the Alternate Startup Directory: g:\qimacros\xlstart
    CAUTION: changing the Alternate Startup Directory back may invoke an Excel bug. You may need to reinstall the macros to correct the problem.
  5. Close Excel to update Windows Registry
  6. Restart Excel. When you have a worksheet open, the QI Macros menu should appear.

Installation Problems - 64 bit Machines

The setup.exe file will only work on 32-bit machines. We will have to send you a zip file of the macros and templates. Or you can install the setup.exe file on a 32 bit PC and transfer the files to the 64 bit machine:

On a 32-bit PC with QI Macros Installed
Go to c:\program files\microsoft office\office11\xlstart (Office 2003).

There you should see a folder (QITemplates) and the qimacros.xlm file.
Copy or zip this folder and files and send it to a 64-bit machine.

On the 64-bit machine, unzip the files into Excel's XLSTART Folder.
You may have to do a FIND to locate this folder.

Then start Excel on the 64 bit machine. The QI Macros menu should appear.

The formula you typed contains an error.

If you received this error, you have a copy of the QI Macros purchased before Dec 2006 and recently loaded Excel 2003 Service Pak 3. Unfortunately, this service pack is not compatible with these older versions of the QI Macros. Here are your options:

  1. Uninstall the new release of Excel.
    • Start-Control Panel-Add or Remove Programs (e.g., Excel 2003 SP3) or
    • Start-All Programs-Accessories-System Tools-System Restore to an earlier date before the installation.
  2. Purchase a QI Macros Upgrade at https://www.qimacros.com/orderup.html
  3. Pay LifeStar to upgrade the older product for all of your users. Rates are: $350/hour with a 3 hour minimum. This option is for enterprise license holders and is not available for versions purchased prior to Jan 2004.

Run Time Error 1004: QIMacros.xla could not be found

One of several things has happened:

  1. QIMacros.xla did not get loaded.
  2. QIMacros.xla has been disabled by Excel.
  3. Excel's XLStart Folder is not a "trusted location"
  4. XL Start Folder is not being read by Excel
  1. QIMacros.xla did not get loaded.

    Go to c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office(10,11,12)\Xlstart and view the contents of the XLstart folder, it should look like this:

    If your XLStart folder contains some kind of temporary file, delete the temporary file and see if this solves the problem. If your folder is missing the .xla file, then close Excel and reinstall the QI Macros.

  2. QIMacros.xla has been disabled by Excel. Perform the following steps to find and enable the file.

    Click on the Office icon in the upper left corner of the screen and then click on Excel Options

    Click on Add ins and look for any Disabled Application addins at the bottom of the list of add ins. If the QIMacros.xla file is listed, enable it.

  3. XLSTART Folder is not in Excel's Trusted Locations.
    Click on the round Office Button and select Excel Options:


    Under Excel Options, Select Trust Center and click Trust Center Setting Button.


    See if there is a trust location in Program Files/Microsoft Office/Office12\XLSTART:


    If not, click on add new location and add one.
    Also check subfolders to allow Excel to access the templates.


    Exit and reopen Excel to see if you can access the macros and templates.

    4.  

  4. XLSTART Folder is not being read by Excel. If solutions 1 through 3 don't work, try moving the QI Macros files to a new folder and using the Alt Startup option to load the files.

    Go to c:\QIMacros and create a new folder called Xlstart

    Go to c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office(10,11,12)\Xlstart and move the contents of that folder (not the folder itself) to the new folder you just created at c:\QIMacros\Xlstart. The contents will include the QI Templates folder, the qimacros.xla file and the QIMacros menu.xlam files.

    Open Excel, QI Macros will no longer be on the menu bar.

    Click on the round Office Button and select Excel Options:

    Click on Advanced, then scroll down to the General section and input the path of the new folder in the box next to the words "At startup load all files in". The path should be c:\QIMacros\Xlstart.


    Click OK at the bottom of the window, then close Excel and reopen it.

Macros run, but can't get templates.

  1. PC Users: If you've recently upgraded Excel, Excel copies the macros to the new XLStart folder, but not the QITemplates. Simply reinstall the QI Macros or copy the QITemplate folder from the old xlstart folder to the new one (e.g., c:\program files\microsoft office\office\xlstart to office11\xlstart):


  2. Macintosh Users: If you've recently upgraded Excel, Excel will copy the qimacros, but not the QITemplates. You will need to copy the QITemplates folder from wherever it was to the new startup folder:
    Microsoft Office 2004:Office:Startup:Excel folder:



  3. PC Users: In the urge to be thorough, you may have run setup.exe and then changed the Alternate Start Up File to include the c:\qimacros\xlstart folder. To resolve this problem, go to TOOLS-OPTIONS-GENERAL and delete the Alternate Startup Folder. Close Excel and reopen it. The Fill-in-the-blanks Templates should now work.

QI Macros Menu in Excel 2008

The Macintosh Office team, in their infinite wisdom, chose not to support Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) in Excel 2008 for the Macintosh. This means that the QI Macros will not run in Excel 2008 for the Mac. You can still open and use all of the control chart templates, value stream maps and so on.

We'd recommend that when you install 2008, choose "custom install" and keep an Excel 2004 or older version to run the QI Macros. (They are also a lot faster than 2008.)

We will keep an eye on service packs for the Macintosh to see if VBA support is added later.

If you've upgraded Excel and QI Macros, but you still see old version of the QI Macros or you get the following error:

"No RETURN() or HALT() function found on macro sheet."

When you upgraded Excel, it moved all of the old QI Macros files to:
c:\Documents and Settings\User name\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLStart.

  1. Simply delete all of the *.xlm or *.xla files from this folder and open Excel to bring up the new version.
  2. If you cannot find these files, search your hard drive for any file named qimacros(.xlm or xla) or zqimenu.xlm. Remove the xlm files that are not in c:\program files\microsoft office\office..\xlstart
  3. Excel 2000 - Service Pack 3 will fix this problem. Download it here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326585/en-us

Also: According to clients, the Excel Y2K updates from Microsoft for DateWatch and DateFix can cause this error. To disable these tools, go to Excel's TOOLS-ADDINS page and remove the tools. Other addins may cause this problem. Turn them off one at a time until you find the culprit.

Getting "Demo Expired" or QIMacros over One Year Old Message

Early versions of the 2007 QI Macros had incorrect code that put "Demo Expired" Title on the upgrade message. Nothing has expired. Your QI Macros will continue to function just fine. The revised message looks like this:

Early versions of the 2007 QI Macros failed to recognize the difference between regional differences in date formats: mm/dd/yy, dd/mm/yy, yyyy/mm/dd. If you are getting QI Macros Over One Year Old message, then you must be using a regional format other than English U.S. (mm/dd/yy). Check Control Panel-Regional and Language Options:

In the U.S., change your regional language to English U.S.

To get a corrected version if this happens shortly after purchase, email lifestar@rmi.net and request the revised setup file.

If your copy is over a year old, you will need to purchase an upgrade.

To Uninstall the QI Macros

Office 2007: Remove all QIMacros..xla and QIMacrosUI.xlam files in:
c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Xlstart


Office 2003: Remove all QIMacros.xlm or .xla files in:
c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11\Xlstart

 

Office XP: Remove all QIMacros.xlm or .xla files in:
c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\Xlstart

 

Office 2000 and 97: Remove all QIMacros.xlm or .xla files in:
c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Xlstart

 

Office 95: Remove all QIMacros.xlm or .xla files in:
c:\Msoffice\Excel\Xlstart


Antivirus software prevents loading qimacros.xla

For some reason, Norton Antivirus prevents loading qimacros.xla.

First, check trusted locations (XL 2007) to make sure the xlstart folder is trusted.

If not, you can run Live Update to get the latest version of the Office Plugin
or you may have to turn off the Office plugin for Norton Antivirus:

Open the antivirus software, click on Options - Miscellaneous and uncheck the Office Plugin. See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329820

Excel 2002 - Run Time Error 13 - Type Mismatch

This problem was caused by Service Pack 2. Upgrade to Service Pack 3.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821292

Excel 2000 - No QI Macros Menu Appears

You may have a newer version of Excel installed (e.g., XP or 2003). The QI Macros always install in what the Windows Registry considers the most current version of Excel. Click on Start and look for Excel or Excel 2003.

You may also use Tools-Options-General-Alternate Startup Folder to specify the path to the current version's XLStart folder (c:\program files\microsoft office\office11\xlstart).

XL 2000 fails to autoload the QI Macros Menu.
You may have Macro Security set too high.
Click on Tools-Macros-Security and set to medium or low.

Alternate: If you've recentlly upgraded Excel,

  1. You may have to reinstall the QI macros for the new version
  2. If you use a desktop shortcut to start Excel, it may still be pointing to the old version of Excel. Go to c:\program files\microsoft office\office10 and create a new shortcut from Excel.exe

Excel 2002/2003 - No QI Macros Menu Appears

A. Click on HELP-ABOUT EXCEL
B. Click on Disabled Items
C. Enable qimacros.xla (2007) or qimacros.xlm (2006) or zqimenu.xlm (1997-2005) or any other macro.

You may have Macro Security set too high.
Click on Tools-Macros-Security and set to medium or low.

Pop Out Menu Missing

Excel 2003: Example above shows main menu, but no choices, just a blue square.

Cause: If Excel or Windows crashes it may leave a ~tmp...xla file in the XLStart folder. This file gets loaded instead of the qimacros.xla file. To check this, right click on a sheet name and choose view code. There should only be one QIMacrosSPCforExcel2007 (qimacros.xla) listing in XL97-2003. (XL2007 will have a qimacrosmenu.xlam for the ribbon.)

Solution: Close Excel. Go to c:\program files\microsoft office\office11\xlstart and remove the ~tmp...xla. Reopen Excel and the problem should be gone.

QI Macros Menu shows up twice

Windows 2000: For some reason, Windows 2000 "auto opens" the macro twice. It won't affect your performance and either menu will work. I've opened a ticket with Microsoft.

Win95, 98, XP, 2003, 2007: You probably have installed the macros and created an alternate startup link to the macros (you load them twice). Go to TOOLS-OPTIONS-GENERAL and clear the Alternate Startup Folder entry.

QI Macros Menu Disappears

If you:

  • click on the X in the upper right hand corner to exit Excel
  • or accidentally click it while trying to close a workbook
  • or choose File-Exit

and then Cancel before exiting Excel, the menu will disappear, because we have to remove the menu prior to exit.

Simply exit and restart Excel.

Runtime Error 1004:
Command not available in shared workbook.

If you get an error like this one:

Excel will not let the QI Macros add charts and sheets to shared workbooks.

You must go to Tools-Share Workbook and uncheck the sharing to allow the QI Macros to run.

Macros run when I use the shift key

Your CTRL key is stuck. (This happened to me.)

Turn your keyboard upside down and whack it a couple of times to dislodge whatever is making the keys stick. (Worst case: you may need a new keyboard.)
Press both CTRL keys simultaneously to unlock them (pressing one or the other for longer can cause them to lock from a Windows perspective).

Excel Opens Slowly XL 2000-2002

See Microsoft Support Article
Microsoft Excel 2000 and 2002

SYMPTOMS
When you open one of the Microsoft Office programs listed at the beginning of this article, the program may open slowly.

CAUSE
This behavior may occur if Norton AntiVirus is installed on your computer. It will scan the QI Macros EVERY time you start Excel.

RESOLUTION OPTION 1
To resolve this problem, unregister the Norton AntiVirus Officeav.dll add-in by following these steps:
1. Click Start and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type the following command (including the quotation marks), and then click OK :

regsvr32 /u "c:\program files\norton antivirus\officeav.dll"

If the command is successful, you see the following message:
DllUnregisterServer in C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\Officeav.dll succeeded. NOTE: If the command is unsuccessful, search your computer's hard disk for the Officeav.dll file. The file may be located in a different folder.

RESOLUTION OPTION 2

If you don't want to change your Norton settings AND if you don't use the QI Macros often, you can move the QI Macros files from the xl startup folder and only have Excel access them when you need to create a graph. Here's how:

  1. Go to c:\qimacros and create a folder called xlstart.
  2. Go to c:\program files\microsoft office\office\xlstart and move (not copy) the QI Macros files from the c:\program files\microsoft office\office\xlstart folder to the c:\qimacros\xlstart folder. Move the contents of the xlstart folder not the folder itself. The QI Macros files include the QI Templates folder and all of the QI Macros .xlm files including the zqimenu.xlm file.
  3. When you open Excel it will no longer see the macros in its startup folder and Excel should open faster. Note: The QI Macros pull down menu will be gone.
  4. When you want to use the QI Macros, go into Tools/Options/General and type c:\qimacros\xlstart in the alternate startup box. This box is labeled "Alternate Startup" or "At startup, open all files in: "
  5. You may need to restart Excel. Excel will open slowly since Norton is checking all of the macros. When Excel opens you should now see the QI Macros pull down menu.
  6. When you are done running charts, delete c:\qimacros\xlstart from the alternate startup file box. Excel will open faster again.

Excel Locks Up Or Is Very Slow To Close

Microsoft knows this is an EXCEL bug, but there is no fix that I can find in their support pages.

One customer, however, said to go into Microsoft Outlook-Options-Journaling and deselect Excel, Word, and other files.

Turn Off Macros Temporarily

Press the ESCAPE Key
When you start Excel, any files that are located in the XLStart folder or the alternate startup folder begin to open. You can press ESCAPE after the files start to open to prevent any additional files from opening.

Macro Does Not Run XL 2007

Click on the Office Button and Excel Options (bottom):

Then click on Trust Center Settings (bottom right):

Excel 2007 defaults to disabling all macros with notification. So to get the macros to run, set macro security to Enable All Macros:

Macro Does Not Run or Template Does Not Open - Nothing Happens

Some recent Microsoft Excel service releases have tightened up security by limiting the macros and files Excel allows to be opened and run. To workaround this issue, change Excels macro security level.

  1. Go to Tools/Macros/Security

  2. Change your security level to Medium or to Low then close and reopen Excel and try to run a macro or open a template from the QI Macros pull down menu. Note: If you have Excel 2000, change the security level to Low.

Template Does Not Open or Runtime Error

The macros look for the templates in a standard location. If you have an alternate startup folder specified (Tools-Options-General), the macros may look in that folder instead. If the macros can't find the file, you may get an error.

You can:

  • Clear the field: "At Startup, open all files in:" (see above)
  • Move the QITemplates folder to the Alternate Startup location
    Copy/Move c:\program files\microsoft office\office11\xlstart\QITemplates to the specified Alternate Startup file location.

Run Time Error

This is usually caused by something unusual in the the data or labels you selected when running a chart. If you selected labels and data try just selecting the data.

If you are still having problems, send your excel spreadsheet to lifestar@rmi.net. Include a description on what chart you were trying to run and what error message you received. We will take a look at your data and get back to you as soon as possible.

P chart Macro Error at Cell A194

This is caused by file names that are too long. Choose File-Save As and pick a name shorter than 20 characters. Then rerun the chart. If you still can't find the problem, send your data file and the error message to lifestar@rmi.net.

Macro Error at Cell A123

These are often caused by invalid data (e.g., text instead of numbers). Check your data. If you still can't find the problem, send your data file and the error message to lifestar@rmi.net.

Macro Not Found

Microsoft Excel 2002-2003

SYMPTOMS
Excel can't "see" a macro.

RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem,

  1. In Excel, go to HELP-ABOUT EXCEL
  2. Click on Disabled Items
  3. Enable the missing macro

Excel 2000-XP-2003 - Macro error at Cell A???

You may get this error if there is No Printer Defined on your computer.

Go to START-Settings-Printers and Faxes.
Add a Printer (any printer) and then rerun the macro.

 

Can't Open Two Files With The Same Name

In the urge to be thorough, you may have run setup.exe and then copied these files into c:\qimacros\xlstart and changed the Alternate Start Up File to include the c:\qimacros\xlstart folder. You've installed two copies and Excel is trying to load both. To resolve this problem, go to TOOLS-OPTIONS-GENERAL and delete the Alternate Startup Folder. Close Excel and reopen it.

Invalid Page Fault in Module OLE32.DLL when opening templates - PC

Microsoft Office log file is corrupted. This is where Office stores information about files opend, closed, saved, etc. To correct:
  1. Find and rename the Offitems.log file (to Offitems.old. All information in the original log file will be lost.)
  2. Restart Excel
  3. Open a template using FILE-NEW. Problem should be corrected.

Invalid Reference Argument at Cell ...

Have you installed another macro package for Excel (e.g., some other SPC package)? If so, thise may create conflicts that cause this error. Uninstall the other package. The QI Macros should then work correctly.

That command cannot be used on multiple selections

Most likely you have two different data sets selected in Excel and it does not know which one you want to use to create the chart. Check your spreadsheet and other spreadsheets in your workbook to make sure you do not have other data fields selected. Note: selected fields are usually highlighted in black.

Compile Error in Hidden Module - PC

Excel startup folder contains either or both of the following Adobe Acrobat PDFMaker add-in template files. To correct:
  1. Exit Excel.
  2. Use Start-Search to find Pdfmaker.dot and /or Pdfmaker.xla
  3. Cut them out of the XLSTART folder and paste them into MyDocuments

Excel Won't Start (Excel 2000-XP-2003)

Check the other xlstart folder accessed by Excel:
c:\document and settings\user\applicationdata\microsoft\excel\xlstart

Remove any unusual files (e.g., resume.xlw).

You may have a corrupted installation disk.

Anova and Analysis Tools requires Analysis Toolpak

If you go to Tools-Addins and check Analysis Toolpak, Excel will either turn these tools on or ask you to install them.

To check if they have been installed, click on Tools-Data Analysis. If you cannot see Data Analysis in the Tools menu, the statistical analysis tools are not installed. Use your installation disk to install them.

To Install (get your Excel or Office installation disk).

  1. On the Tools menu, click Add-Ins.
  2. In the Add-Ins available list,
    select the Analysis ToolPak box, and then click OK.
    Follow the instructions in the setup program.
  3. You may have to exit Excel and reopen it to find the data analysis tools at the bottom of the TOOLS menu.

Office 2000: There may be a Microsoft glitch in Excel 2000 that allows you to install the addins, but still not see Data Analysis. The QI Macros Anova and Analysis tools should work, but you may get an "alert" message each time because they cannot find Data Analysis on the Tool bar.

Possible addin coflict: One client was using the Megastat addin, which may have turned off the Data Analysis menu item.

Run Time Error '1004': The Macro 'XXXXX' cannot be found.

Where XXXXX can be ANOVA1, TTESTM, etc.

Excel XP-2007
Customers have noticed and we were able to recreate a situation where Excel seems to lose track of the Analysis Toolpak.

If you get this error confirm the problem by clicking on the Tools menu and look for the Data Analysis (i.e., analysis toolpak) at the very bottom of the menu. You should not see it (left missing, right correct):

If you click on Tools-Addins, however, you will see that the Analysis Toolpak addin is checked. This is an Excel bug. The Toolpak is checked, but Excel doesn't seem to know it.

To correct this problem:

  1. Uncheck the Analysis Toolpak in Tools-Addins
  2. Exit Excel
  3. Open Excel
  4. Click on Tools-Addins and Check the Analysis Toolpak.
  5. Confirm that the Data Analysis option is now available on the Tools Menu.


The Anova tools should now work properly.

The Pareto line is flat. Scatter and Dot Plots don't work.

Excel 97-2007
We found that if you've accidentally or on purpose set Excel's default chart type to pie or radar chart, the pareto, scatter and dot plot won't work correctly.

Set your default chart back to a column or line chart.

 

The arrows on histograms move around

Excel 2000 and XP
In both 2000 and XP, once you create a histogram with USL and LSL and control limits, if you save the file and reopen it, Excel moves the arrows and text fields to the left.

Excel seems to remember where to put the arrows and text, but doesn't display them properly. If you open the file in 97, 2003 or 2007, the histogram displays correctly. If you click on File-Print Preview in Excel 2000 or XP, you'll see that they should print properly:

You can use the Drawing toolbar's selection arrow to select and reposition the arrows. Use the selection tool to click on an arrow and move everthing back to it's original position:

Or, once you've created a chart, you can "protect" the sheet to lock the arrows in place:

Cp, Cpk, etc are off the chart to the right

The most recent version of the QI Macros fixes this in most instances. If you have an older version of the QI Macros you might consider purchasing an upgrade.

If you have a recent version of the QI Macros, you may experience this problem when your spec limits are far apart but your data is clustered together. In order to make room for the spec limits, the macro may have pushed the metrics too far to the right. You can select and move the text boxes as follows:

  1. Make sure your drawing toolbar is open (usually appears at the bottom of your spreadsheet). If it is not, select View/Toolbars/Drawing.
  2. Click on the arrow to change your cursor.

  3. Click and drag over the text boxes to select them.

  4. Move the boxes back on the page.
  5. Click on the arrow to change your cursor back to normal.

I can't change the sheet name of a chart

In Excel XP (System release 0), if you type a name that's too long for the sheet name, Excel reverts to the original name.

1. Use a shorter name

2. Upgrade to System Release 3 (SR3)

Using Lot Numbers on Chart

Excel and the Macros cannot distinguish lot numbers from data, unless you put a leading character in front of the number. To do this,
  1. insert a column between your lot numbers and your data.
  2. Use Excel's text function as shown below to convert the numbers into text with leading text, in this case L for lot.
  3. Select the new column/data and run the chart of your choice.


Histogram Print Truncates Decimal Points

For some reason, some versions of Excel truncate numerical fields linked to the histdata page. To make the decimals reappear, simply click on the bottom right "handle" of the textbox and drag to increase the size of the box.

Dates on the X-axis cause data to plot strangely

When you use dates or time for the X-axis labels, Excel automatically treats them as a time-series: it plots them in date/time order. On a control chart, this can cause points to stack up. Look at this c Chart:

We have four points for the same day and Excel stacks them instead of spreading them.

To resolve this problem,click here to go to our Excel FAQ Page.

Strange colored background on charts and spreadsheets

XL 2000-2003 have the ability to reset your color palette. This may cause problems with your backgrounds. If you get a chart or sheet that looks like this with a green or other colored background:



Then simply reset your color palette to clear the problem. Click on Tools-Options-Color then click the Reset button and OK to restore the defaults.

Extra Blank Worksheet Appears

The QI Macros always open a blank worksheet (to mimic Excel at start up). If you double click on a file to start Excel, the information about your file isn't available until after the QI Macros have loaded. So the software cannot check for the existence of an open document to prevent opening a blank sheet. If this really bugs you:

If you purchased the QI Macros prior to Feb 20, 2006

  1. Close Excel
  2. Go to C:Program files/Microsoft Office/Office (10, 11 or 12) and find the zqimenu.xlm file.
  3. Right click on the file, select properties, and uncheck the READONLY box.
  4. Open Excel and click on Window-Unhide and select zqimenu.xlm
  5. In Column A, about line 16 you will find an IF statement that checks for Book1 before it opens a NEW workbook.
    = IF(ISERROR(GET.DOCUMENT(1,"Book1")),NEW(5))
  6. Clear this cell
  7. Select Window-Hide to hide the macro
  8. Exit Excel and save the zqimenu.xlm file over the existing one in the XLSTART folder.
  9. When you start Excel again, it will not open a blank workbook.

If you purchased the QI Macros after Feb 20, 2006

  1. Close Excel
  2. Go to C:Program files/Microsoft Office/Office (10, 11 or 12) and find the QIMacros.xlm file.
  3. Right click on the file, select properties, and uncheck the READONLY box.
  4. Open Excel and click on Window-Unhide and select QIMacros.xlm
  5. In Column A, about line 7 you will find an IF statement that checks for Book1 before it opens a NEW workbook.
    = IF(ISERROR(GET.DOCUMENT(1,"Book1")),NEW(5))
  6. Clear this cell
  7. Select Window-Hide to hide the macro
  8. Exit Excel and save the QIMacros.xlm file over the existing one in the XLSTART folder.
  9. When you start Excel again, it will not open a blank workbook.

© 2007 KnowWare International Inc. (888) 468-1537
knowwareman@qimacros.com
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QI Macros Lessons

  1. Installation Tips
  2. Tips for Creating Charts
  3. Chart Templates and Other Tools
  4. Control Charts and Histograms
  5. Other Advanced Features and Tips
  6. Anova and Statistical Analysis Tools
  7. Measurement System and Statistical Analysis

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