Excel 2007 For Dummies
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Add-in programs are small modules that extend the power of Excel 2007 by giving you access to a wide array of features and calculating functions not otherwise offered in the application. There are three different types of add-ins:

  • Built-in add-ins available when you install Excel 2007.

  • Add-ins that you download for Excel 2007 from Microsoft Office Online.

  • Add-ins developed by third-party vendors for Excel 2007 that often must be purchased.

When you first install Excel 2007, the built-in add-in programs included with Excel 2007 are not loaded and therefore are not yet ready to use. To load any or all of these built-in add-in programs, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Office button and then click the Excel Options button.

    The Excel Options dialog box appears.

  2. Click the Add-Ins tab.

    The Add-Ins tab lists all the names, locations, and types of the add-ins to which you have access.

  3. At the bottom, select Excel Add-Ins from the Manage drop-down box and click Go.

    Excel opens the Add-Ins dialog box showing all the names of the built-in add-in programs you can load.

    Activating built-in add-ins in the Add-Ins dialog box.
    Activating built-in add-ins in the Add-Ins dialog box.
  4. Click the check boxes for each add-in program that you want loaded in the Add-Ins Available list box.

    Click the name of the add-in in the Add-Ins Available list box to display a brief description of its function at the bottom of this dialog box.

  5. Click OK.

    An alert dialog box appears, asking you if you want to install each selected add-in.

  6. Click the OK button in each alert dialog box to install its add-in.

After activating add-ins in this manner, Excel automatically places command buttons for the add-ins in either an Analysis group on the Ribbon’s Data tab or in a Solutions group on the Formulas tab, depending on the type of add-in. In some cases, Excel inserts an Add-Ins tab on the Ribbon.

If you end up never using a particular add-in you’ve loaded, you can unload it (and thereby free up some computer memory) by following the previously outlined procedure to open the Add-Ins dialog box and then clicking the name of the add-in to remove the check mark from its check box. Then click OK.

About This Article

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About the book author:

Greg Harvey has authored tons of computer books, the most recent being Excel Workbook For Dummies and Roxio Easy Media Creator 8 For Dummies, and the most popular being Excel 2003 For Dummies and Excel 2003 All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies. He started out training business users on how to use IBM personal computers and their attendant computer software in the rough and tumble days of DOS, WordStar, and Lotus 1-2-3 in the mid-80s of the last century. After working for a number of independent training firms, Greg went on to teach semester-long courses in spreadsheet and database management software at Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
His love of teaching has translated into an equal love of writing. For Dummies books are, of course, his all-time favorites to write because they enable him to write to his favorite audience: the beginner. They also enable him to use humor (a key element to success in the training room) and, most delightful of all, to express an opinion or two about the subject matter at hand.
Greg received his doctorate degree in Humanities in Philosophy and Religion with a concentration in Asian Studies and Comparative Religion last May. Everyone is glad that Greg was finally able to get out of school before he retired.

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