Administrator Rights
Running Excel in Isolation
To open a new instance of Excel, hold the 'ALT' button when you launch the program, either by double-clicking on the icon or right-clicking on the taskbar (you many have to hold the 'ALT' key until you get a confirmation prompt).
Alternatively, you can create this shortcut: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office15\EXCEL.EXE" /x
Adjust to your particular path & version: e.g. "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\EXCEL.EXE" /x
But be warned, loading the second instance will make Excel a lot slower (especially with macros running on PERSONAL.XLSB, including events like SheetBeforeRightClick). Mysteriously, creating the second instance also slows the first one too (i.e. the one that was already open and running fine). However, opening another instance proves invaluable when one document makes all the other documents in Excel crash, because it localizes the application error within that instance. Sandboxing your Excel documents also pays dividends when running lengthy macros or when the autosave takes a long time on a particularly large document. Lastly, the undo stack is confined to the current instance, so you can't end up going to far and screwing up another document. Unfortunately, you can't use the document in another instance as an input in a formula (at least not in the point-and-click way) and you lose some of the rich text formatting when copying & pasting from the clipboard (including comments). So it's not for everybody!
Useful Excel Locations
Besides the excel.exe root used above, some noteworthy ones include:
Templates go here: C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates
Or type ?Application.TemplatesPath in VBA
Default startup folder: C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART
Or type ?Application.StartupPath in VBA (note that this folder isn't: ?Application.Path & "\STARTUP")
Default addin folder: C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\AddIns
Other Locations of Interest
Application.LibraryPath
Application.DefaultFilePath
Chrome Fun
To open an incognito browser, create this shortcut: “C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” –incognito
To open without plugins (Chrome must be completely closed beforehand): “C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” --disable-extensions
Scripting For Excel
To create a script (*.vbs) to go to a specific cell in a spreadsheet, type this code (assuming 'workbook_name.xlsx' is located on the desktop):
Set objXl = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
Set ObjWB = objXl.Workbooks.Open("C:\Users\%UserName%\Desktop\workbook_name.xlsx")
objXl.Goto ObjWB.Sheets("WORKSHEET_NAME").Range("A1")
objXl.Visible = True
Special Windows Locations
You may have noticed the '%UserName%' shorthand above. It's a nifty trick to keep your links dynamic.
There are other examples. For instance, to link to the program files folder without knowing where it is, use: %programfiles% or %programfiles(x86)%
%AppData%, %HomeDrive%, %SystemRoot%, %Temp%, %UserProfile%, %windir% also work
Note: You can also use shell shortcuts e.g. shell:startup, shell:desktop, shell:downloads, shell:MyComputerFolder (i.e. This PC), shell:ProgramFiles or shell:ProgramFilesX86, shell:recent, shell:RecycleBinFolder, shell:Start Menu, shell:System or shell:Systemx86, shell:Windows, shell:ControlPanelFolder, shell:AppsFolder
New Window In Windows Explorer
To open a folder in a new window (hold the CTRL button).
You can also create a shortcut to do the same: C:\Windows\explorer.exe /n, "C:\Users\%UserName%\Downloads"
Restarting
To create a restart shortcut, use: C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -r -t 00
By the way, you can control your startup programs from here: %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
Special Applications In Windows
Some useful run commands:
appwiz.cpl - Add/Remove Programs
desk.cpl - Display Properties
powercfg.cpl - Power Management
devmgmt.msc - Device Manager
eventvwr.msc - Event Viewer
services.msc - Services
compmgmt.msc - Computer Management
perfmon.msc - Performance Manager
Some useful programs (to run from WIN+R command run prompt):
Cmd
Control
Explorer
Msconfig
Regedit
msinfo32
Sndvol32 or "C:\Windows\SysWOW64\SndVol.exe"
Taskmgr
Resource Monitor shortcut: %windir%\system32\perfmon.exe /res
Final Tips
When using a UDF in Excel, press CTRL+SHIFT+A to get a list of variables
ALT+F11 to make the VBE appear