Formatting Settings

One dialog sets the defaults every Format command obeys — the number formats it writes, which automation runs, how deep undo goes, and how it treats your existing flag rules. The important nuance: some choices are saved as personal preferences that carry across workbooks and restarts, and others are deliberately session-only and reset each time Excel launches.

What it is

ModelXcel Pro tab → Format group → Settings (keytip SE) opens the Smart Formatting Settings dialog. It’s where you change the house defaults — a different number pattern, a different date mask, more or fewer undo levels, rolled-in column auto-fit and empty-reference highlighting — without touching each command one click at a time. It does not include color pickers; colors live in Themes.

What the dialog exposes

Automation

  • Enable Auto Smart Formatting — the same flag as the Auto Format toggle (format as you type). Session-only.
  • Enable Auto-Save — save the workbook at the end of each format pass. Session-only.
  • Enable Auto-Fit Columns — the same flag as Auto-Fit while typing. Persisted.
  • Highlight Empty Referenced Cells — fold the empty-ref check into format passes. Persisted.
  • Enable Smart Formatting keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+Shift+J/Q/X and others) — turn the shortcuts off when another add-in claims the same keys. Applied live, no restart. Persisted.

Behavior

  • Undo Levels — how many format passes Undo Format can reverse (1–100, default 20). Session-only.
  • Enable Text Transformations + a case (Sentence / lowercase / UPPERCASE / Capitalize Each Word) — the same flag as the Text Case include checkbox. Session-only.

Existing flag conditional formatting

  • Preserve user rules (safest), Recolor existing rule when safe, or Replace with ModelxcelPro rule — how flag styling treats rules already on flag cells. Persisted. The “Recolor” option is disabled and labelled “(unavailable in this build)” in this version.

Number Formats

  • Editable format strings for Number, Date, Percent, Factor, and Ratio cells, each with a […] editor, a live Sample preview, and a Reset format defaults link. Strings use en-US syntax (comma = thousands, period = decimal). Persisted — and they also write to the active workbook (see below).

What persists, and what resets each session

SettingPersists across restarts?
The five number-format stringsYes — per user
Enable Auto-Fit ColumnsYes
Highlight Empty Referenced CellsYes
Keyboard-shortcut master switchYes
Flag conditional-formatting modeYes
Enable Auto Smart Formatting (Auto Format)No — resets to off
Enable Auto-SaveNo — resets to off
Undo LevelsNo — resets to 20
Enable Text Transformations + caseNo — resets to off / Sentence case

Persisted settings live in a per-user JSON file at %APPDATA%\ModelxcelPro\smart-formatting-settings.json — app-wide, shared across every workbook you open, not stored in any individual file.

How the ribbon toggles mirror Settings

Ribbon controlSettings checkboxPersists?
Auto Format toggleEnable Auto Smart FormattingNo
Auto-Fit while typingEnable Auto-Fit ColumnsYes
Empty Refs — Include…Highlight Empty Referenced CellsYes
Text Case — Include…Enable Text TransformationsNo

Changing one updates the other. (One small quirk: after you Save the dialog, the ribbon refreshes the Auto Format, Auto-Fit, and Empty-Refs controls but not the Text Case checkbox, so that one can look stale until the ribbon next refreshes.)

Number formats also touch the workbook

Changing a number format rewrites the active workbook’s styles

The format strings are personal preferences, but saving a change also writes the new format onto the active workbook’s named styles (MxNumber, MxDate, … and their input variants), so every cell already wearing one re-displays with the new format — a real change to the open workbook, and one that is not captured by Undo Format. To reverse it, re-open Settings and change the string back. If you leave the strings untouched, Settings writes nothing to the workbook. Other open or future workbooks only pick up the new strings when their styles are next applied — the dialog doesn’t retroactively restyle every file.

Saving

  • Save stays greyed out until you change something and every number-format string is valid. A red marker next to a format field means the string isn’t valid Excel syntax — fix it or use Reset format defaults.
  • Cancel discards everything you changed in that visit.
  • If you just enabled Auto-Fit Columns, the dialog offers to auto-fit all columns now — which changes column widths across the workbook, but only on your confirmation.

Recommended settings by workflow

  • Building a model from scratch: turn on Auto Format and Auto-Fit while typing so new entries are styled and columns stay sized as you go. (Remember Auto Format resets each session.)
  • Cleaning up an inherited model: leave Auto Format off, set your number-format defaults, then run Format Sheet once per tab. Enable Highlight Empty Referenced Cells for a final sweep.
  • Heavy editing / large pastes: keep Auto Format off and consider a higher Undo Levels for the session. Leave Auto-Save off unless you want every pass to save.
  • Shortcut conflicts: if another add-in uses Ctrl+Shift+J/Q/X, turn off Enable Smart Formatting keyboard shortcuts (this persists).

Caveats

  • Session-only settings surprise people. Auto Format, Auto-Save, Undo Levels, and Text Transformations are off (or at default) after every restart — by design.
  • “Recolor existing rule when safe” is unavailable in this build; use Preserve or Replace.
  • No color settings here. Despite expectations of “color mappings,” this dialog only edits number-format strings and behavior toggles — cell colors come from Themes.
  • en-US format syntax only. Even in other locales, enter format strings with comma = thousands and period = decimal.

Related