My review of JMT Excel Utilities

JMT Utilities is an Excel add-in written by Andrew Engwirda (Excel MVP) with approximately 100 different utilities ranging from chart exporting to clearing the active worksheet. Once installed, a new menu option is added to the Main menu. There are approximately 15 major option groups you can choose from (See the add-in page for the full list of options). I say approximately because I wrote this review a few weeks ago, and the add-in has been changed since then.

I tested both the menu and the toolbar versions of the add-in (you can toggle versions right from the add-in itself). To switch, go to JMT Utilities » JMT Tools » JMT Excel Utilities Settings… and select an option from the "Change the menu style" section.

The first thing you might notice is that everything has an accelerator key and face ID icon, which makes for a very professional appearance.

The 15 different menu options are

  • Worksheet Tools
  • Row and Column Tools
  • Formula Tools
  • Deletion Tools
  • Object Tools
  • Export Tools
  • Text Tools
  • Number Tools
  • Time and Date Tools
  • Chart Tools
  • Path and Folder Tools
  • Workbook Tools
  • Developer Tools
  • Games
  • JMT Tools

Here's a shot of the toolbar version:

Toolbar version

The most useful command I found on the Worksheet Tools menu is "Save Sheet As Workbook." I find this to be a common request in the Excel newsgroups. Just choose your filename and location to save the sheet as a new workbook. If more people knew about it, there'd be less to talk about.

Working with sheets is a breeze, too. There's a tool for hiding, adding, deleting and sorting sheets.

Worksheet Tools

Export Tools

Exporting ranges as images is another popular request this add-in handles. Here's the dialog:

Export Range as Image File

Developer Tools

The Developer Tools section has a Face ID browser, and you can copy any of the images and paste them into the workbook, in addition to learning their face ID number for later use in programmtically creating new toolbars.

Face ID toolbar

Games

Yes, this add-in even includes a few games. Specifically, Mastermind, Concentration and Simon Says. I wish the windows were resizable, though. I'd make them smaller so it isn't so obvious I'm using Excel for entertainment. ;)

Simon Says

And much more

JMT Utilities can also create new VBA functions for you. Under JMT Tools there's an option to add JMT functions to the current workbook. What this does is create a new module with a series of useful functions you can use on the worksheet or in a VBA procedure. My favorite is the MAKEPASSWORD function which is used to generate random passwords.

One thing I didn't see is a userform-based version (with a MultiPage control, but I guess it could be implemented in many ways), but the menu and toolbar versions were sufficient.

I recommend these tools for anyone who wants to perform any of the above tasks, without the hassle of having to use VBA to accomplish them. Even better is the cost: free! You can't beat a deal like that.

So download it from the add-in page and let Andrew know what you think!

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About JP

I'm just an average guy who writes VBA code for a living. This is my personal blog. Excel and Outlook are my thing, with a sprinkle of Access and Word here and there. Follow this space to learn more about VBA. Keep Reading »

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comment bubble 1 Comment:

  1. Andrew writes:

    Hi JP

    Glad you like my utilities :-)

    Think I had the most fun making the games. I did make a not–so-obvious version of Mastermind before, maybe I should add it! Here's the link.

    http://blog.livedoor.jp/andrewe/archives/50109338.html

    Anyway, more stuff coming up in future. I'm always open to suggestions too.

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Site last updated: February 12, 2012