VT Final Accounts

If there is a single feature of VT Final Accounts that makes it practical to produce statutory accounts in Microsoft Excel, then it is AutoHide. AutoHide hides any notes or rows with nil balances and any blank notes. AutoHide re-numbers the notes which remain visible.

AutoHide also determines which columns are displayed in the fixed asset and investments notes.

Using AutoHide

AutoHide is very simple to use. You just have to click on the AutoHide On/Off button on the VT toolbar. The workbook is then scanned and any notes or rows with nil balances are automatically hidden. If you want to see the rows or notes again, you can turn AutoHide off by clicking on the button again. If the numbers change and a different set of notes and rows should be hidden, click on the Re-evaluate Hiding button.

AutoHide On/Off button

Re-evaluate Hiding button

When hiding is on, the text AutoHide Is On is displayed in red at the top of the TB, Data, CFWorkings and Partners sheets. This is to remind you that if you change any of the data on these sheets then AutoHide may need re-evaluating. If you want to print out one of these sheets without this caption, just delete the text in the cell. It will be replaced when you next evaluate AutoHide.

How AutoHide works

Areas of cells in the templates supplied have been given special names all beginning zAutoHide. These areas are known as AutoHide areas. When AutoHide is evaluated the areas are examined to see if they contain any none zero numbers and are hidden or unhidden as appropriate.

To get a better understanding of how AutoHide is set up, select a sheet such as the Notes sheet and choose the Select All AutoHide Areas command (VT Final Accounts AutoHide menu). There is also a button for this on the VT Utility toolbar

Creating AutoHide areas

Creating AutoHide areas requires some thought because there are several different types of area and you cannot normally see the areas. Fortunately, unless you are designing your own templates, you are unlikely to want to create AutoHide areas.

AutoHide areas of the same type should not overlap. If they do, their effect is difficult to predict because it depends on which is evaluated by the software first. When you create an AutoHide area, you are warned if it overlaps with an existing area of the same type.

To create an AutoHide area, select an appropriate range of cells and choose the Set As AutoHide Area command (VT Final Accounts AutoHide menu). There is also a button for this on the VT Utility toolbar.

Removing AutoHide areas

AutoHide can work erroneously if you have added new rows and inadvertently expanded an existing AutoHide area. It can be quite hard to track down what is wrong. The easiest solution is to remove all AutoHide areas from the region which is not correctly hiding and hide the rows manually as required.

To remove AutoHide, select the rows with a problem and choose the Remove All Areas From Region command (VT Final Accounts AutoHide menu). There is also a button for this on the VT Utility toolbar. For more details, see Removing AutoHide.

To manually hide a row using standard Excel techniques, click on the row number with the right mouse button and choose the Hide command from the pop-up menu.