Getting Online Add-ins

The add-ins that Microsoft includes as part of the Excel program aren't the only ones that you can lay your hands on. You can find additional free Excel add-ins on the Microsoft Office Web site, and many third-party vendors sell Excel add-ins that you can often purchase online and then immediately download onto your hard drive.

To locate free Excel add-ins from Microsoft, go online to the Office Web site at

You can get to this Web page quickly from within Excel by choosing Help → Microsoft Office Online.

Once there, click the Excel link, enter add-ins as the search text in the Search text box, and click Go. Doing this brings up a Web page listing pages of free add-ins that you can download and use with your version of Excel. (Note that addins are very version-specific, so be sure that you only download those that are compatible with the version of Excel that you're using.)

To find third-party vendors and get information on their add-ins, launch your Web browser and then do a search for Excel add-ins. This brings up a Web page full of links to various outfits that make and sell all types of Excel add-ins. Note that many of these sites offer specialized templates and Excel training along with their add-ins.

Even before you do this Web search, you may want to pay a visit to the Macro Systems Web site at www.add-ins.com. Macro Systems offers a wide variety of Excel add-ins, sold both in collections and as single items. The Macro Systems addins are divided into categories that include Time Saving Add-ins, Charting Add-ins, Data Related Addins, Financial Add-ins, and so on.

When visiting the Macro Systems Web site, be sure to download its free add-in, Time Saving Microsoft Excel Solutions. This online book is in the Microsoft help file format and is chocked full of hints on how to work smarter and faster. To get this book, scroll down the Add-ins.com home page until you see the Free Add-ins section and then click the Free Downloadable Book link.