HydroToolBox

Before Beginning

Although not required, I highly recommend installing the ChangeUnits Excel add-in before installing HydroToolBox.  ChangeUnits is available for free at:

http://www.ChangeUnits.com

ChangeUnits allows Excel to recognize and directly convert almost any combination of standard units to any other combination of units in a single step.  For example, a single function call will convert "acre ft / day" to "m^3 / s".  Other unit conversion tools, including Excel’s own Convert function, require multiple calls to convert combinations of units, increasing the risk of typing errors and incorrect conversion.  ChangeUnits greatly simplifies working with the large array of English and metric units that are ubiquitous in hydrology.

Installation

Installation on Windows

Although not required, it is often helpful to copy HydroToolBox.xll to the default Microsoft addin directory.  This directory depends on the version of Windows used and its setup.  It is often something like

            "C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Addins"

where “username” is the name of your account on the machine.  To find out what your default addin directory is, open Excel and choose  Tools|Add Ins|Browse.  The file selection window opens in the default addin directory.

 

Note:  If the folder “Application Data” is not visible in your home folder, you can make it visible by changing the Folder Options in the Control Panels.  From Start button in Windows, select “Control Panel” and then double-click on “Folder Options”.  Select the View tab and under the “Hidden files and folders” option make sure “Show hidden files and folders” is selected.

 

Office 2007:

Start Excel and check the security settings. Click Microsoft Office Button (the top left round button) > Excel Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Add-Ins, then make sure all three Add-Ins security options are NOT selected.

 

Click the Microsoft Office button (the top-left round button), then click Excel Options button. From the Excel Options dialog, select the Add-Ins category, then click the Go button.

 

From the Add-Ins dialog box click the Browse button and browse for the HydroToolBox.xll add-in (it will be in the folder where you have extracted it). Click Ok. 

 

Office 2003:

Start Excel and from the main menu, choose Tools|Add Ins.  Locate and select the file HydroToolBox.xll.

 

If the computer responds with a question similar to “A file named HydroToolBox.xll already exists in this location.  Do you want to replace it?”, answer Yes.

 

Installation on Mac OS X

Office 2011:

Double-click on the HydroToolBox.mpkg and follow the instructions.

 

Then start Excel and from the main menu, choose Tools|Add Ins.  Click on the “Select…” button and select the file

 

"Applications:AddIns: HydroToolBox: HydroToolBox.xla"

 

If the computer responds with a question similar to “A file named HydroToolBox.xla already exists in this location.  Do you want to replace it?”, answer Yes.

 

Office 2004:

Although not required, it is often helpful to copy HydroToolBox.xll to the default Microsoft Office addin directory.  Depending on the version of Office you are using, the directory is usually located in

            "Applications:Microsoft Office 2004:Office:Add-Ins"

or

            "Applications:Microsoft Office:Office X:Add-Ins"

To find out what your default addin directory is, open Excel and choose  Tools|Add Ins and click on the Select… button.  The file selection window opens in the default addin directory.

 

Start Excel and from the main menu choose Tools|Add Ins.  Locate and select the file HydroToolBox.xll.

 

If the computer responds with a question similar to “A file named HydroToolBox.xll already exists in this location.  Do you want to replace it?”, answer Yes.