I'm stuck how to determine files' Classtypes needed to use in code to embed these files into a Word document:
Selection.InlineShapes.AddOLEObject ClassType:="AcroExch.Document.11", _
FileName:="C:\Work\Dashbaord & ".pdf", LinkToFile:=False, _
DisplayAsIcon:=False
I need to embed csv, pdf, xlsx and txt files. How I can automatically loop all files in folders and automatically determine the ClassType of each?
In order to insert a file as an OLE Object the file type needs to have an available OLE Server installed on the machine, or it needs to be in a format that the Windows Packager mechanism can "wrap up" into an OLE type. Before you go this route you need to ensure that anyone who tries to work with such a document has corresponding OLE Server software installed on the machine on which the document is opened. Just because the machine that creates an embedded OLE object can do so doesn't mean another machine can work with the result, later on.
OLE Server software will be noted in the Registry. The Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) are able to function as OLE Servers. In the Registry you'll find corresponding entries such as Word.Document and Excel.Workbook... or AcroExch.Document for PDF files if Microsoft Office and the Adobe Acrobat Reader are installed.
One way to figure out which ClassTypes to use would be to manually insert each file type and inspect the resulting Embed field code.
To look the ClassTypes up in the Registry, something like the following code sample can be used in Word. Word has the function System.PrivateProfileString that wraps up a Windows API call to the Registry. It can be used to retrieve and to write information. (This code does not loop the files in a directory as the question was about how to determine the ClassType. For the sake of simplicity a file extension is hard-coded.)
A file type that does not have an OLE Server won't have a . in the default value of the Registry key. A .txt file, for example, is listed as txtfile. You may have to watch out for some file types; for example on my installation a csv file is listed as Excel.CSV, which may not be what you want...
Sub RetrieveOLEInfo()
Dim fileExt As String
Dim regKey As String
Dim oleServer As String
fileExt = "docx"
regKey = "HKEY_Classes_Root\."
oleServer = System.PrivateProfileString("", regKey & fileExt, "")
'Debug.Print oleServer
If InStr(oleServer, ".") = 0 Then
Debug.Print "Insert as a Package"
Else
Debug.Print "Insert as: " & oleServer
End If
End Sub
We share our Excel Macro - MS Access project with our client.
They don't know to select the 'Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects x.x Library' from the Tools --> References.
Any code to automatically update MS ADO library settings?
Note: In Office we are using MS 2010. I think the client's office is using Micorsoft XP.
I suggest above to use late binding, but you could do something like this (my code exactly as used in PPT 2010, should be easy enough to adapt to Access but I do not ever use access).
You may need to change the ADODBReference constant for use in XP. Or you could add another constant and a logic check to see what Application.Version and load from the appropriate destination path.
Public Const ADODBReference As String = "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\System\ado\msado15.dll"
Sub PPT_AddRefToADODBLibrary()
'Adds a programmatic reference to ADODB library if one doesn't already exist
'ADODBReference is a public const refers to Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 6.0 Library
If Not PPT_RefExists(ADODBReference, "Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 6.0 Library") Then
Application.VBE.ActiveVBProject.References.AddFromFile _
ADODBReference
Else:
'Already installed
End If
End Sub
The sub above calls on this custom function, which first iterates the active References
Function PPT_RefExists(refPath As String, refDescrip As String) As Boolean
'Returns true/false if a specified reference exists, based on LIKE comparison
' to reference.description.
Dim ref As Variant
Dim bExists As Boolean
'Assume the reference doesn't exist
bExists = False
For Each ref In Application.VBE.ActiveVBProject.References
If ref.Description Like refDescrip Then
PPT_RefExists = True
Exit Function
End If
Next
PPT_RefExists = bExists
End Function
Trying to simply turn it on with a code like this:
Application.VBE.ActiveVBProject.References.AddFromFile "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\System\ado\msado15.dll"
you may come across three problems: it is already installed, earlier version is installed, the file path is invalid. So my logic is as follows:
Code loops through all refs and checks if ref to Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 6.0 Library is installed.
If not installed, then it tries to install it with error handling.
If failure will occur, it means that either earlier version i.e. Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 2.8 is installed (could be checked while looping) or the file path is invalid.
Code:
Sub AddReferenceMicrosoftActiveXDataObjectsLibrary()
Const MyRefPath As String = "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\System\ado\msado15.dll"
Dim ref As Variant
Dim IsInstalled As Boolean: IsInstalled = False
For Each ref In Application.VBE.ActiveVBProject.References
Debug.Print ref.FullPath
If ref.FullPath = MyRefPath Then IsInstalled = True
Next
If IsInstalled = False Then
On Error GoTo err:
Application.VBE.ActiveVBProject.References.AddFromFile MyRefPath
On Error GoTo 0
Debug.Print "Just installed"
Exit Sub
Else
Debug.Print "Already installed"
End If
Exit Sub
err:
MsgBox "Probably earlier version of Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects is already installed or other error occurred"
End Sub
I think late binding is the only way.
I made an Excel-based application for my office, and every time i prepare new version there is about 10% of users I have to visit to add references.
I found out, that since these computers have different Windows versions, for some dll's there is no version which would exist on each computer.
This makes adding references from code more difficult and I do not want to use late binding.
Thats a pity - most of the dll's functionality I use is compatible among all versions.
I am trying to use a COM visible .NET DLL from Excel VBA. I have been successful when registering the DLL using regasm and then manually adding a reference to it via the Tools -> References menu item in the VBA Developer window.
However, I am now trying to register the DLL without using the regasm command so that the Excel file can be used on any computer without registering the DLL. So far this is what I've tried:
Dim JART_Instance As Object
Sub Initialize()
Dim RefPath As String, X As Byte
Const RefName = "JART xxx"
RefPath = Application.ActiveWorkbook.Path & "\JART\JART.dll"
With ActiveWorkbook.VBProject.References
For X = 1 To .Count
If .Item(X).Description Like RefName Then
.Remove .Item(X)
End If
Next
.AddFromFile (RefPath)
End With
End Sub
Sub PostInitialize()
Set JART_Instance = New JART.MainJobControl
End Sub
I have added a reference to "Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Extensibility 5.3". When I run the above code I get "Run-time error '48': Error in loading DLL". I have loaded this DLL a couple times using regasm. Do I need to do something like change the GUID's used in the project and retry. I've seen code examples where this is supposed to work.
If I reference the tlb file instead of the .dll I do not get the DLL loading error. Instead I get an error whenever I try to use the JART_Instance variable saying that the reference has not been set. Even though PostInitialize gets called directly after Initialize and there is no evidence that any of the code threw an error or failed to run. If I try to put a "Stop" command in the PostInitialize function it tells me that it "Cannot enter break-mode at this time".
Any ideas, thanks.
Excel-DNA has a helper function that does this for Com Addins written on that platform.
It appears to:
load the addin
register it with CoRegisterClassObject
add it's progid to the registry
add it to the registry key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\Excel\Addins
call Application.ComAddins.Update in Excel
remove all the previous registry entries
Unregister the object with CoRevokeClassObject
It would appear that once Excel has loaded the addon, it doesn't unload when the registry entries are removed and CoRevokeClassObject is called. It stays loaded until Excel closes and releases it.
So, it's doable but not easy.
Okay so I've resorted to doing a shell command to register the DLL with regasm. Here is my code:
Private Sub Workbook_BeforeClose(Cancel As Boolean)
Dim strWinCmd As String
Dim retVal As Double
strWinCmd = "cmd.exe %SystemRoot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\regasm.exe /u /codebase /tlb .\JART\JART.dll"
retVal = Shell(strWinCmd, vbHide)
End Sub
Private Sub Workbook_Open()
Dim strWinCmd As String
Dim retVal As Double
strWinCmd = "cmd.exe /c %SystemRoot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\regasm.exe /codebase /tlb """ & Application.ActiveWorkbook.Path & "\JART\JART.dll"""
Call Shell(strWinCmd, vbNormalFocus)
Call Button_Handlers.Sleep(1500)
Call Button_Handlers.Initialize
End Sub
For reference the Button_Handlers.Sleep just calls the system sleep method and Button_Handlers.Initialize does this:
Sub Initialize()
'This JART.MainJobControl is the main class in the JART DLL
Set JART_Instance = New JART.MainJobControl
'Use JART_Instance
End Sub
So basically I'm trying to register the DLL at start-up and un-register it on close. My problem is that when I open this file on a new PC I get an error in Button_Handlers.Initialize. It tells me that I'm trying to use an undefined class (JART.MainJobControl), as if the DLL wasn't referenced. If I try to reopen the file everything works fine???
The way I'm doing this is manually adding the reference to the DLL on a machine that already has it registered with regasm. I then save this excel file and transport it to a machine that hasn't had the DLL registered and try to open it and run it. I think that since the reference is already added to the excel file, alls the code has to do is register it with regasm. Does anyone know why this wouldn't work? Am I not sleeping long enough. I may post this as a separate question.
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What version control systems have you used with MS Excel (2003/2007)? What would you recommend and Why? What limitations have you found with your top rated version control system?
To put this in perspective, here are a couple of use cases:
version control for VBA modules
more than one person is working on a Excel spreadsheet and they may be making changes to the same worksheet, which they want to merge and integrate. This worksheet may have formulae, data, charts etc
the users are not too technical and the fewer version control systems used the better
Space constraint is a consideration. Ideally only incremental changes are saved rather than the entire Excel spreadsheet.
I've just setup a spreadsheet that uses Bazaar, with manual checkin/out via TortiseBZR. Given that the topic helped me with the save portion, I wanted to post my solution here.
The solution for me was to create a spreadsheet that exports all modules on save, and removes and re-imports the modules on open. Yes, this could be potentially dangerous for converting existing spreadsheets.
This allows me to edit the macros in the modules via Emacs (yes, emacs) or natively in Excel, and commit my BZR repository after major changes. Because all the modules are text files, the standard diff-style commands in BZR work for my sources except the Excel file itself.
I've setup a directory for my BZR repository, X:\Data\MySheet. In the repo are MySheet.xls and one .vba file for each of my modules (ie: Module1Macros). In my spreadsheet I've added one module that is exempt from the export/import cycle called "VersionControl". Each module to be exported and re-imported must end in "Macros".
Contents of the "VersionControl" module:
Sub SaveCodeModules()
'This code Exports all VBA modules
Dim i%, sName$
With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
For i% = 1 To .VBComponents.Count
If .VBComponents(i%).CodeModule.CountOfLines > 0 Then
sName$ = .VBComponents(i%).CodeModule.Name
.VBComponents(i%).Export "X:\Tools\MyExcelMacros\" & sName$ & ".vba"
End If
Next i
End With
End Sub
Sub ImportCodeModules()
With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
For i% = 1 To .VBComponents.Count
ModuleName = .VBComponents(i%).CodeModule.Name
If ModuleName <> "VersionControl" Then
If Right(ModuleName, 6) = "Macros" Then
.VBComponents.Remove .VBComponents(ModuleName)
.VBComponents.Import "X:\Data\MySheet\" & ModuleName & ".vba"
End If
End If
Next i
End With
End Sub
Next, we have to setup event hooks for open / save to run these macros. In the code viewer, right click on "ThisWorkbook" and select "View Code". You may have to pull down the select box at the top of the code window to change from "(General)" view to "Workbook" view.
Contents of "Workbook" view:
Private Sub Workbook_Open()
ImportCodeModules
End Sub
Private Sub Workbook_BeforeSave(ByVal SaveAsUI As Boolean, Cancel As Boolean)
SaveCodeModules
End Sub
I'll be settling into this workflow over the next few weeks, and I'll post if I have any problems.
Thanks for sharing the VBComponent code!
TortoiseSVN is an astonishingly good Windows client for the Subversion version control system. One feature which I just discovered that it has is that when you click to get a diff between versions of an Excel file, it will open both versions in Excel and highlight (in red) the cells that were changed. This is done through the magic of a vbs script, described here.
You may find this useful even if NOT using TortoiseSVN.
Let me summarise what you would like to version control and why:
What:
Code (VBA)
Spreadsheets (Formulae)
Spreadsheets (Values)
Charts
...
Why:
Audit log
Collaboration
Version comparison ("diffing")
Merging
As others have posted here, there are a couple of solutions on top of existing version control systems such as:
Git
Mercurial
Subversion
Bazaar
If your only concern is the VBA code in your workbooks, then the approach Demosthenex above proposes or VbaGit (https://github.com/brucemcpherson/VbaGit) work very well working and are relatively simple to implement. The advantages are that you can rely on well proven version control systems and chose one according to your needs (have a look at https://help.github.com/articles/what-are-the-differences-between-svn-and-git/ for a brief comparison between Git and Subversion).
If you not only worry about code but also about the data in your sheets ("hardcoded" values and formula results), you can use a similar strategy for that: Serialise the contents of your sheets into some text format (via Range.Value) and use an existing version control system. Here's a very good blog post about this: https://wiki.ucl.ac.uk/display/~ucftpw2/2013/10/18/Using+git+for+version+control+of+spreadsheet+models+-+part+1+of+3
However, spreadsheet comparison is a non-trivial algorithmic problem. There are a few tools around, such as Microsoft's Spreadsheet Compare (https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Overview-of-Spreadsheet-Compare-13fafa61-62aa-451b-8674-242ce5f2c986), Exceldiff (http://exceldiff.arstdesign.com/) and DiffEngineX (https://www.florencesoft.com/compare-excel-workbooks-differences.html). But it's another challenge to integrate these comparison with a version control system like Git.
Finally, you have to settle on a workflow that suits your needs. For a simple, tailored Git for Excel workflow, have a look at https://www.xltrail.com/blog/git-workflow-for-excel.
It depends whether you are talking about data, or the code contained within a spreadsheet. While I have a strong dislike of Microsoft's Visual Sourcesafe and normally would not recommended it, it does integrate easily with both Access and Excel, and provides source control of modules.
[In fact the integration with Access, includes queries, reports and modules as individual objects that can be versioned]
The MSDN link is here.
I'm not aware of a tool that does this well but I've seen a variety of homegrown solutions. The common thread of these is to minimise the binary data under version control and maximise textual data to leverage the power of conventional scc systems. To do this:
Treat the workbook like any other application. Seperate logic, config and data.
Separate code from the workbook.
Build the UI programmatically.
Write a build script to reconstruct the workbook.
I use git, and today I ported this (git-xlsx-textconv) to Python, since my project is based on Python code, and it interacts with Excel files. This works for at least .xlsx files, but I think it will work for .xls too. Here's the github link. I wrote two versions, one with each row on its own line, and another where each cell is on its own line (the latter was written because git diff doesn't like to wrap long lines by default, at least here on Windows).
This is my .gitconfig file (this allows the differ script to reside in my project's repo):
[diff "xlsx"]
binary = true
textconv = python `git rev-parse --show-toplevel`/src/util/git-xlsx-textconv.py
if you want the script to be available for many different repos, then use something like this:
[diff "xlsx"]
binary = true
textconv = python C:/Python27/Scripts/git-xlsx-textconv.py
my .gitattributes file:
*.xlsx diff=xlsx
Working upon #Demosthenex work, #Tmdean and #Jon Crowell invaluable comments! (+1 them)
I save module files in git\ dir beside workbook location. Change that to your liking.
This will NOT track changes to Workbook code. So it's up to you to synchronize them.
Sub SaveCodeModules()
'This code Exports all VBA modules
Dim i As Integer, name As String
With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
For i = .VBComponents.count To 1 Step -1
If .VBComponents(i).Type <> vbext_ct_Document Then
If .VBComponents(i).CodeModule.CountOfLines > 0 Then
name = .VBComponents(i).CodeModule.name
.VBComponents(i).Export Application.ThisWorkbook.Path & _
"\git\" & name & ".vba"
End If
End If
Next i
End With
End Sub
Sub ImportCodeModules()
Dim i As Integer
Dim ModuleName As String
With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
For i = .VBComponents.count To 1 Step -1
ModuleName = .VBComponents(i).CodeModule.name
If ModuleName <> "VersionControl" Then
If .VBComponents(i).Type <> vbext_ct_Document Then
.VBComponents.Remove .VBComponents(ModuleName)
.VBComponents.Import Application.ThisWorkbook.Path & _
"\git\" & ModuleName & ".vba"
End If
End If
Next i
End With
End Sub
And then in Workbook module:
Private Sub Workbook_Open()
ImportCodeModules
End Sub
Private Sub Workbook_BeforeSave(ByVal SaveAsUI As Boolean, Cancel As Boolean)
SaveCodeModules
End Sub
Taking #Demosthenex 's answer a step further, if you'd like to also keep track of the code in your Microsoft Excel Objects and UserForms you have to get a little bit tricky.
First I altered my SaveCodeModules() function to account for the different types of code I plan to export:
Sub SaveCodeModules(dir As String)
'This code Exports all VBA modules
Dim moduleName As String
Dim vbaType As Integer
With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
For i = 1 To .VBComponents.count
If .VBComponents(i).CodeModule.CountOfLines > 0 Then
moduleName = .VBComponents(i).CodeModule.Name
vbaType = .VBComponents(i).Type
If vbaType = 1 Then
.VBComponents(i).Export dir & moduleName & ".vba"
ElseIf vbaType = 3 Then
.VBComponents(i).Export dir & moduleName & ".frm"
ElseIf vbaType = 100 Then
.VBComponents(i).Export dir & moduleName & ".cls"
End If
End If
Next i
End With
End Sub
The UserForms can be exported and imported just like VBA code. The only difference is that two files will be created when a form is exported (you'll get a .frm and a .frx file for each UserForm). One of these holds the software you've written and the other is a binary file which (I'm pretty sure) defines the layout of the form.
Microsoft Excel Objects (MEOs) (meaning Sheet1, Sheet2, ThisWorkbook etc) can be exported as a .cls file. However, when you want to get this code back into your workbook, if you attempt to import it the same way you would a VBA module, you'll get an error if that sheet already exists in the workbook.
To get around this issue, I decided not to try to import the .cls file into Excel, but to read the .cls file into excel as a string instead, then paste this string into the empty MEO. Here is my ImportCodeModules:
Sub ImportCodeModules(dir As String)
Dim modList(0 To 0) As String
Dim vbaType As Integer
' delete all forms, modules, and code in MEOs
With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
For Each comp In .VBComponents
moduleName = comp.CodeModule.Name
vbaType = .VBComponents(moduleName).Type
If moduleName <> "DevTools" Then
If vbaType = 1 Or _
vbaType = 3 Then
.VBComponents.Remove .VBComponents(moduleName)
ElseIf vbaType = 100 Then
' we can't simply delete these objects, so instead we empty them
.VBComponents(moduleName).CodeModule.DeleteLines 1, .VBComponents(moduleName).CodeModule.CountOfLines
End If
End If
Next comp
End With
' make a list of files in the target directory
Set FSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set dirContents = FSO.getfolder(dir) ' figure out what is in the directory we're importing
' import modules, forms, and MEO code back into workbook
With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
For Each moduleName In dirContents.Files
' I don't want to import the module this script is in
If moduleName.Name <> "DevTools.vba" Then
' if the current code is a module or form
If Right(moduleName.Name, 4) = ".vba" Or _
Right(moduleName.Name, 4) = ".frm" Then
' just import it normally
.VBComponents.Import dir & moduleName.Name
' if the current code is a microsoft excel object
ElseIf Right(moduleName.Name, 4) = ".cls" Then
Dim count As Integer
Dim fullmoduleString As String
Open moduleName.Path For Input As #1
count = 0 ' count which line we're on
fullmoduleString = "" ' build the string we want to put into the MEO
Do Until EOF(1) ' loop through all the lines in the file
Line Input #1, moduleString ' the current line is moduleString
If count > 8 Then ' skip the junk at the top of the file
' append the current line `to the string we'll insert into the MEO
fullmoduleString = fullmoduleString & moduleString & vbNewLine
End If
count = count + 1
Loop
' insert the lines into the MEO
.VBComponents(Replace(moduleName.Name, ".cls", "")).CodeModule.InsertLines .VBComponents(Replace(moduleName.Name, ".cls", "")).CodeModule.CountOfLines + 1, fullmoduleString
Close #1
End If
End If
Next moduleName
End With
End Sub
In case you're confused by the dir input to both of these functions, that is just your code repository! So, you'd call these functions like:
SaveCodeModules "C:\...\YourDirectory\Project\source\"
ImportCodeModules "C:\...\YourDirectory\Project\source\"
One thing you could do is to have the following snippet in your Workbook:
Sub SaveCodeModules()
'This code Exports all VBA modules
Dim i%, sName$
With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
For i% = 1 To .VBComponents.Count
If .VBComponents(i%).CodeModule.CountOfLines > 0 Then
sName$ = .VBComponents(i%).CodeModule.Name
.VBComponents(i%).Export "C:\Code\" & sName$ & ".vba"
End If
Next i
End With
End Sub
I found this snippet on the Internet.
Afterwards, you could use Subversion to maintain version control. For example by using the command line interface of Subversion with the 'shell' command within VBA. That would do it. I'm even thinking of doing this myself :)
I would like to recommend a great open-source tool called Rubberduck that has version control of VBA code built in. Try it!
If you are looking at an office setting with regular office non technical users than Sharepoint is a viable alternative. You can setup document folders with version control enabled and checkins and checkouts. Makes it freindlier for regular office users.
in response to mattlant's reply - sharepoint will work well as a version control only if the version control feature is turned on in the document library.
in addition be aware that any code that calls other files by relative paths wont work. and finally any links to external files will break when a file is saved in sharepoint.
After searching for ages and trying out many different tools, I've found my answer to the vba version control problem here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/25984759/2780179
It's a simple excel addin for which the code can be found here
There are no duplicate modules after importing. It exports your code automatically, as soon as you save your workbook, without modifying any existing workbooks.
It comes together with a vba code formatter.
Use any of the standard version control tools like SVN or CVS. Limitations would depend on whats the objective. Apart from a small increase in size of the repository, i did'nt face any issues
I have been looking into this too. It apears that the latest Team Foundation Server 2010 may have an Excel Add-In.
Here is a clue:
http://team-foundation-server.blogspot.com/2009/07/tf84037-there-was-problem-initializing.html
Actually there only a handful of solutions to track and compare changes in macro code - most of those were named here already. I have been browsing the web and came across this new tool worth mentioning:
XLTools Version Control for VBA macros
version control for Excel sheets and VBA modules
preview and diff changes before committing a version
great for collaborative work of several users on the same file (track who changed what/when/comments)
compare versions and highlight changes in code line-by-line
suitable for users who are not tech-savvy, or Excel-savvy for that matter
version history is stored in Git-repository on your own PC - any version can be easily recovered
VBA code versions side by side, changes are visualized
You might have tried using Microsoft's Excel XML in zip container (.xlsx and .xslm) for version control and found the vba was stored in vbaProject.bin (which is useless for version control).
The solution is simple.
Open the excel file with LibreOffice Calc
In LibreOffice Calc
File
Save as
Save as type: ODF Spreadsheet (.ods)
Close LibreOffice Calc
rename the new file's file extension from .ods to .zip
create a folder for the spreadsheet in a GIT maintained area
extract the zip into it's GIT folder
commit to GIT
When you repeat this with the next version of the spreadsheet you'll have to make sure you make the folder's files exactly match those in the zip container (and don't leave any deleted files behind).
There is also a program called Beyond Compare that has a quite nice Excel file compare. I found a screenshot in chinese that briefly shows this:
Original image source
There is a 30 day trial on their page
I found a very simple solution to this question which meets my needs. I add one line to the bottom of all of my macros which exports a *.txt file with the entire macro code each time it is run. The code:
ActiveWorkbook.VBProject.VBComponents("moduleName").Export"C:\Path\To\Spreadsheet\moduleName.txt"
(Found on Tom's Tutorials, which also covers some setup you may need to get this working.)
Since I'll always run the macro whenever I'm working on the code, I'm guaranteed that git will pick up the changes. The only annoying part is that if I need to checkout an earlier version, I have to manually copy/paste from the *.txt into the spreadsheet.
It depends on what level of integration you want, I've used Subversion/TortoiseSVN which seems fine for simple usage. I have also added in keywords but there seems to be a risk of file corruption. There's an option in Subversion to make the keyword substitutions fixed length and as far as I understand it will work if the fixed length is even but not odd. In any case you don't get any useful sort of diff functionality, I think there are commercial products that will do 'diff'. I did find something that did diff based on converting stuff to plain text and comparing that, but it wasn't very nice.
It should work with most VCS (depending on other criteria you might choose SVN, CVS, Darcs, TFS, etc), however it will actually the complete file (because it is a binary format), meaning that the "what changed" question is not so easy to answer.
You can still rely on log messages if people complete them, but you might also try the new XML based formats from Office 2007 to gain some more visibility (although it would still be hard to weed through the tons of XML, plus AFAIK the XML file is zipped on the disk, so you would need a pre-commit hook to unzip it for text diff to work correctly).
I wrote a revision controlled spreadsheet using VBA.
It is geared more for engineering reports where you have multiple people working on a Bill Of Material or Schedule and then at some point in time you want to create a snapshot revision that shows adds, del and updates from the previous rev.
Note: it is a macro enabled workbook that you need to sign in to download from my site (you can use OpenID)
All the code is unlocked.
Rev Controlled Spreadsheet