Name Manager; Range Names made easy

Content

What is Name Manager (office-js edition)

Name Manager (office-js edition) is the Office-JavaScript counterpart of our VBA Name Manager Excel add-in. Contrary to the VBA Name Manager add-in, Name Manager (office-js edition) works in both desktop Excel and Excel on-line.

Name Manager is free of charge and works in Windows and Mac Excel 365, both 32 and 64 bits and Excel on-line.

What makes Name Manager special is that it allows you to add, edit and manage range names in Excel on-line, which currently does not offer any range name editing options.

Excel on-line Installation

Click this button to Install Name Manager in your on-line Excel

Desktop Installation

Click this button to Install Name Manager for Destop Excel

If that link does not work for you, you can also find the tool by opening Excel and clicking Insert, Add-ins (the Add-ins button may also be located on the Home tab, or even on the File tab, or labelled "Get Add-ins" depending on your version and build of Excel!):

Excel Insert tab with the Get Add-ins button

After clicking the Add-ins button search for "name manager" (without the quotes). It should be listed close to the top:

Excel Insert tab with the Get Add-ins button

Click the Add button

To add Name Manager to your Excel, click the Add button.

Reviews

I kindly invite you to add your review of the tool here.

Instructions

After installing, Name Manager sets up a button on the Formulas tab:

Name Manager add-in ribbon button

Here is a screen-shot of a the main window:

Name Manager add-in for Excel

And this is what the tool looks like in Excel on-line:

Name Manager add-in in Excel on-line

Refresh

Click the button to refresh the list of names

Add

Adds a new range name, using this screen:

Name Manager add-in for Excel, add name

Edit

Edits the selected name(s), using this screen. If you had more than one name selected in the list window, you will only be able to change the visibilty of those names.

Note that you cannot edit the name or the scope of the name. To be able do that you need our VBA version.

Name Manager add-in for Excel, edit name

Delete

Deletes the selected name(s)

Names

The list of range names found in the workbook. Each name is pre-pended with its scope

Name contains

This allows you to filter the list of names. The list will be limited to those names which have the characters you type into this box in either their name or in their scope worksheet name.

Scope

Filters the list of names to the scope you choose here.

Name Types

Filters the list of names for names with the selected characteristic. Please note that Excel system names (names controlled by Excel such as print_area) can only bee seen by choosing this filter type. As of version 1.2.0.0 you can also choose to display the Table names in your workbook.

If you really like Name Manager (office-js edition), please consider donating to help support it's future development:
Paypal donate button

Recent Changes

Build 1.3.1.0, 2024-11-20: New filter: Volatile names (names containing volatile functions like OFFSET and RAND). New filter: Names referring to entire rows or columns. New option: You can now edit the name and range of a table.

Build 1.3.0.0, 2024-11-11: Added 'Duplicate' filter, shows names which have both a sheet-level and a workbook-level copy. Added "What's new" message.

Build 1.2.0.0: Added Tables as a new name type (though tables are not names, they do behave a bit similar to names).

Build 1.1.0.0, 2024-09-27: Added filter for Lambda name types (names containing a LAMBDA function).

Build 1.0.0.0, 2024-01-30: Various bug fixes, enabled deleting multiple names, improved handling of different screen-heights.

Build 1.0.0.0, 2024-01-02: First release.

Updating

If you are not sure you are using the latest version, click inside the Name Manager pane and press control+F5 to ensure the latest version Name Manager is fetched from our server.

Comments

All comments about this page:

Comment by: Detlef (2-1-2024 14:52:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Jan Karel
When I move the pane over to the worksheet and resize it then parts of the dialogue are not redrawn correctly and become transparent.

Windows 10
Excel 365 - Current Channel - Version 2312 Build 17126.20078

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (2-1-2024 16:44:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Detlef,

Thanks for letting me know, I have filed a bug with Microsoft as this is not something I can change

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (2-1-2024 16:56:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Detlef,

The issue has been fixed. Please open the task pane, click inside and press control+F5 to force a reload of the add-in.

Comment by: Detlef (2-1-2024 17:25:00) deeplink to this comment

That was quick.
👍

Comment by: Helge Larsen (6-1-2024 19:01:00) deeplink to this comment

I have with great interest seen, that you have develop a JavaScript version of Name Manager. I am trying to find out whether the old VBA or the new JavaScript version is best for me.
Therefore:
     Which version is fastest?
     Do the versions have the same features?
     Will the two versions be developed in parallel?
     - or will you concentrate on the new one?
I am using Excel 365 on Windows 11.

Best regards, Helge

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (6-1-2024 22:03:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Helge,

Well, it depends :-)
- if you use excel online the js version is your choice

- the vba version has the most options and is probably faster

- I will probably spend more development time on the js version (but that is still a long way from having the same features as the js version)

Comment by: AG (19-1-2024 20:24:00) deeplink to this comment

Do you have any video you can share showing how and when I would use the tool?

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (19-1-2024 21:13:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi,

I'm afraid not. But if you're excel file uses range names this addin offers better filtering than the builtin one (in my opinion) and it allows you to see hidden names (or change their visible state). And if you're using excel on the web, then this is the only tool that allows you to create, edit and delete range names.

Comment by: Dennis Edwards (23-1-2024 10:49:00) deeplink to this comment

Can the js version be used / installed in Excel Desktop? I know Office-JS is supposed to work in both versions, whereas VBA only works in the Desktop, but I'm unsure how you get the js version into Excel Desktop.

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (23-1-2024 12:41:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Dennis,

Yes that version of the add-in also works on desktop.

I agree the animated gif here: https://jkp-ads.com/excel-name-manager-js.asp#Installation-instructions goes past the File, Get Add-ins button so quickly it is barely noticeable. Tip: hover your mouse over the picture to let it animate.

Comment by: Peter Carr (3-2-2024 11:06:00) deeplink to this comment

It doesn't seem to show the range names automatically created for Tables

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (3-2-2024 11:30:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Peter,

Technically, table names are not range names, they are different objects entirely. This is why I've chosen not to include them.

But you could try to convince me otherwise of course:-)

Comment by: Joe Adams (11-3-2024 12:21:00) deeplink to this comment

The function of double clicking on a NAME no longer works in highlighting to area referred to by the NAME.

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (11-3-2024 13:36:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Joe,

Odd, it works just fine for me.
Does it change after refreshing the add-in? Open its task pane , click inside and press control+F5.

Comment by: Marissa Wright (14-4-2024 02:31:00) deeplink to this comment

I’m not clear on how the List function in the Name Manager plug in can be used to update the Name, Scope, Formula, Comment, Visible fields. I can’t see any documentation on your site to do it other than references to the fact that it can. Am I missing something here? Modifying the scope of a large set of named cells or ranges is one of the most problematic Excel issues I’ve run across, since I use them to document complex worksheets.

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (14-4-2024 21:08:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Marissa,

Those changes are best done using the VBA version of my name manager, which has more functionality than the Javascript version.

Comment by: Santiago (4-6-2024 15:19:00) deeplink to this comment

Hello. I'm using the Name Manager "online" version, and I see some names in Excel's Name Manager that don't show up in yours. They are very simple named ranges, 'currency_codes' and a reference to an absolute range scoped to a worksheet. I don't this isn't much info to debug. Will try the VBA version.

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (4-6-2024 15:30:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Santiago,

In "regular" Name Manager, do these names have a different icon than "regular" named ranges? If so the ones my Name Manager omits may not be "real" range names, but -for example- tables.

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