HOW TO: Remove Template Listings in Excel

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This article was previously published under Q288363

Summary

This article describes how to remove recently used templates from the Most Recently Used (MRU) files list on the File menu and from the New from template list in the New Workbook task pane.

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.

Save Existing Registry Information

Quit all Microsoft Office programs.
Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).
Click to expand the following subkey in the registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel
On the Registry menu, click Export Registry File.

The Export Registry File dialog box appears.
In the File name box, type C:\Export to Excel, and then click Save.

How to Remove a Template from the MRU List

Click Recent Files.
In the Name list, click Filenumber, where Filenumber corresponds to the template file in the Data list that you want to remove.

NOTE: The values in the Name list are displayed in numerical order.
On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click Yes on the Confirm Value Delete message box.
Rename any values in the Name list that are not in numeric order. To do so, follow these steps:
1. In the Name list, right-click the value that you want to rename.
2. On the shortcut menu that appears, click Rename.
3. Edit the number at the end of Filenumber to place the values in numerical order.
  
  NOTE: The list should appear similar to the following:
```
   Name        Data
   (Default)   {value not set}
   File1       "C:\My Documents\myworksheet.xls"
   File2       C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates\mytemplate2.xlt"
   File3       "C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Templates\mytemplate3.xlt"
						
```

How to Remove a Template from the Templates List in the Task Pane

Click Recent Templates.
In the Name list, click the Templatenumber value that corresponds to the template in the Data list that you want to remove.

NOTE: The values in the Name list are displayed in alphanumeric order.
On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then on the Confirm Value Delete message box, click Yes.
Click the Friendlynumber value that has the same number as that of the Templatenumber value that you removed in step 3.
On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then on the Confirm Value Delete message box, click Yes.
Rename any values in the Name list that are not in alphanumeric order. To do so, follow these steps:
1. In the Name list, right-click the value that you want to rename.
2. On the shortcut menu that appears, click Rename.
3. Edit the number at the end of Friendlynumber or Templatenumber to place the values in alphanumeric order.
  
  NOTE: The list should appear similar to the following:
```
   Name        Data
   (Default)   {value not set}
   Friendly1   "Balance Sheet"
   Friendly2   ""
   Template1   "C:\Program Files\MicrosoftOffice\Templates\1033\BalanceSheet.xlt"
   Template2   "C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Templates\mytemplate2.xlt"
						
```
Quit Registry Editor.
Restart the computer.

In the following registry subkey

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Recent Templates

Friendlynumber and Templatenumber both refer to the same template. The Friendlynumber Data value contains the name of the template, and the Templatenumber Data value points to the path of that template file.

For example, if Friendly2 contains a Data value of Sales Invoice, Template2 will contain a Data value that is the path to the Sales Invoice template.

   Name        Data
   (Default)   {value not set}
   Friendly2   "Sales Invoice"
   Template2   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033\SalesInvoice.xlt"

Custom templates may have a Friendlynumber value that is empty. The corresponding Templatenumber value will contain the full path to the location of that custom template. For example:

   Name        Data
   (Default)   {value not set}
   Friendly1   ""
   Template1   "C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Templates\mytemplate.xlt"

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References

For more information about the MRU list, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

284896� The "Most recently used" list is missing from the File menu, and the "Recently used file list" option is unavailable in Office XP and in Office 2003

280591� OFFXP: Unable to Move Menu Commands Below the List of Most Recently Used Files

307949� HOW TO: Configure a System Policy to Control the Recently Used File List in an Office XP Program

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