How do I create a master workbook in excel?

Question

In powerpoint we have something called a master slide. I want the same idea for excel. I want to create a template that I can work on with formulas and I want it to update all children files.

Example: I have a budget template. This template has a budget listing all required equipments and their cost for a project. We then have a formula that calculates the total cost of all equipment. I want to update only the template file with equipment and formulas, but I want the actual files (children) to contain the costs (because they might be different costs for different locations, but the rest of the budget and its formulas are shared). Its pretty much exactly what a master slide in powerpoint is, if you've ever used that you should understand what I'm trying to do pretty easily. One master file to store formulas, and a bunch of children files that store the data to be accessed by those formulas. This way if a formula needs to be changed, the templates is adjusted and all other files update accordingly.

Any ideas? I'd prefer not to have to use VB, and I'd also like a solution that works for both mac and windows.

Found this question but no answers. I've already created a template, but that doesn't seem to update the other files when I modify it.

Answer 1

It sounds like what you want is something called an Access Database.

Seriously, that's the application that does exactly what you're describing, allowing central control over the way data is presented. There is no equivalent functionality in Excel. Even in your example of Powerpoint, modifying the Master slide only affects slides in that file; it does not cascade those changes out into other files. That kind of centralised control is really the realm of a relational database program.