EXD files are created when you insert controls

When you run any of the Microsoft Office suite programs on a computer that is running Windows XP, the following new folders are created in the Windows\Temp folder or in some other folder on your computer. These folders contain files that have the .exd file name extension.

Microsoft 2007 Office

• Excel12.0
• Ppt12.0
• Word12.0
• Vbe

Microsoft Office 2003

• Excel11.0
• Ppt11.0
• Word11.0
• Vbe

Microsoft Office 2002

• Excel10.0
• Ppt10.0
• Word10.0
• Vbe

Microsoft Office 2000

• Excel9.0
• Ppt9.0
• Word9.0
• Vbe

Microsoft Office 97

• Excel8.0
• Ppt8.0
• Word8.0
• Vbe

This article explains why these folders and the .exd files are created. This article also explains the effects of deleting these folders and files.

The Office programs create the folders that are listed in the "Summary" section when you use the Control Toolbox to insert an ActiveX control into an Office document. The Office programs also create the folders when you insert any type of control in a custom UserForm in the Microsoft Visual Basic editor. The following table lists the folders that are created when you insert an ActiveX control or another control. Typically, the programs create these folders in the Windows\Temp folder. However, if the Windows\Temp folder does not exist, the files may be created somewhere else on your computer.

The first time that you insert a control into a document or into a UserForm, the Office program creates an .exd file for that control in the appropriate folder. After a program creates the .exd file for a specific control, it inserts the same control into other documents or forms more quickly. This is because the .exd file caches information for the control.

The program that creates the .exd files does not delete the files when you exit the program. The next time you start the same program and you insert the same control, the .exd files are still available for the program to use.

If you delete any of the folders that are listed in the "Summary" section, or if you delete any of the .exd files that these folders contain, you do not receive any error messages and no problem occurs. However, a slight decrease in performance may occur the first time that you insert a control. This is because the .exd file for that control does not exist. After the program re-creates the .exd file, you can reinsert the control to improve performance.