The sharing concept is good, and I like the free software foundation concepts of freedom to modify, and their General Public License (GPL) to or the alternative copyleft Design Science License (DSL), though I think the GPL is probably better.

But excel calculations are some what different. When calculations are handwritten there is a personal style about them, so that two sets of calculations can be told apart. Personal-centric as Yogia puts it. So to a certain extent designers don't want others presenting calculations the same way they do.

We are not in the business of writing computer programs but designing, and Excel is just a design-tool. I do not submit my excel workbooks to certifiers, only the printed pages. Sharing example calculations is one thing, providing productivity tools to competitors is entirely different.

Also some workbooks are product specific design models, and as such constitute the intellectual property of the businesses which paid for their development.

Work books with VBA code are also another matter, for such VBA codes extends well beyond the capabilities of Excel, such can be exported and used else where such as a standalone VB program or other language. After all most of my VBA code started as Delphi programs I wrote, I translated to VBA to use in Excel. If I understood more programming I could have probably left in Delphi(3) and wrote an COM Add-In or something. If others are able and wish to do that great.

But there is also another obstacle to releasing such code and that is copyright issues. A few years ago I checked Australian Standards website copyright info pages, whilst it was acceptable to write programs for personal use and in-house use for a business, releasing to the public even free of charge requires permission and is likely to incurr payment of royalties. This is a potential hassle, unwanted cost, and if ignored a major risk and liability.

Note once a design workbook is released it is likely to develop and expand in usefulness, with more and more of a national standard becoming embedded in the workbook.

This has a problem for those attempting to sell standards. Those writing standards, and those already trying to sell software, including Excel workbooks based on such standards. These parties are likely to protest, once they catch wind of such free products.

There are a multitude of reasons for calculations and different audiences who read and use them. In many situations presentation is irrelevant and answers are that matters. Presentation of calculations on paper is simply familiar because traditionally tats where they were worked out. But now many are worked out by computer and presentation requirements have changed.

So users of Excel in many instances are simply carrying out calculations as a back up check for use of more specialised software. As such the workbooks are not necessarily checked and set out to be user friendly and used by others. Especially those by sole practitioners.

Thus as others have said, it requires time and effort, and it is difficult to determine what workbooks to place effort into. I started using spreadsheets around 1985/87 with multiplan, followed by Lotus 123, then as-easy-as, then Quattro Pro(DOS) then Quattro Pro (V1 for Windows), then Excel 97. I have workbooks for industrial, manufacturing, mechanical and structural engineering, as well as management.

But who really needs them? Like who hasn't already created such workbooks? What modern business doesn't employ people with the necessary engineering knowledge and the skills to create Excel workbooks to improve their productivity?

If users don't have the necessary understanding, should they be permitted to use the workbook? If they have the necessary scientific knowledge but don't understand Excel should they be permitted to use the workbooks? In-house managers can attempt to control such usage, and employ appropriately qualified persons. Released to the world, usage is out off control.

There is a website listing a multitude of serious consequences resulting from erroneous spreadsheets. Most concerned purpose written workbooks. Releasing workbooks really does require some thoughful consideration. In-house errors are likely to be spotted and corrected, externally I will hazard a majority of users will simply accept what ever comes out.

Another point is that I assume most users were attracted here by XLC. XLC doesn't do calculations. It is an add-in utility.
But the repository is focused on submitting calculations not utilities. Limiting design office automation to Excel is restrictive enough, limiting to calculations is highly restrictive. Check out some of the other Excel websites, they have very few workbooks. Those that appear to have many actually only a few, when the minor variations are considered.

As for XLC, I think it is good, but at present I don't have a use for it. Correct me if I am wrong, but the equation shapes do not automatically update when I change a number, I have to execute re-draw. One reason I changed from QPro, was that I didn't like executing macros for the worksheet to be upto date, that interferes with the natural operation of a spreadsheet, with Excel I changed the macros to VBA functions. Now when I change a number the worksheet is upto date, and I no longer need dialogue boxes to collect the data and execute the macro.

I would like to see ExelCalcs develop. But I think the introduction of building information models (BIM) is liely to see a reduction in use of Exel calculations as more and more engineering design gets integrated into software. However Excel can be used to control higher level software which as a COM automation interface such as MultiFrame.

Calculations have a purpose. The environment in which ExelCalcs is operating, and the potential is far greater than simply plugging numbers into formulae displayed in Exel.

Attached are more thoughts I had on the week end, along with ideas for spreadsheet development.

When I get opportunity I will submit some workbooks when I have suitably modified them. But I will leave it to others to format them with XLC, I prefer getting as many inputs and results on a page as possible.