Using the Built-in Add-ins
You can start enhancing the power of Excel right away by making use of the add-in programs Microsoft provides as part of Excel. The add-ins that Microsoft make available for your use include:
Analysis ToolPak:
Adds extra financial, statistical, and engineering functions to Excel's pool of built-in functions. To access these functions (and get help on using them), choose Tools → Data Analysis after activating this add-in.
Analysis ToolPak VBA:
Enables VBA programmers to publish their own financial, statistical, and engineering functions for Excel.
Conditional Sum Wizard:
Helps you set up formulas that sum data only when the data meets the criteria you specify. To use this wizard, choose Tools → Conditional Sum after activating this add-in.
Euro Currency Tools:
Enables you to format worksheet values as euro currency and adds a EUROCONVERT function for converting other currencies into euros. To access these tools, choose Tools?Euro Conversion after activating this add-in.
Internet Assistant VBA:
Enables VBA programmers to publish Excel data to the Web.
Lookup Wizard:
Helps you set up formulas that return data from an Excel list by using known data in that list.
Solver Add-In:
Calculates solutions to what-if scenarios based on cells that both adjust and constrain the range of values.
The first time you activate any of the add-ins included with Excel, the program immediately displays an alert dialog box telling you that the add-in is not currently installed and asking you if you want to install it. All the add-ins included as part of Excel show up in the list box in the Add-Ins dialog box but don't actually take up disk space until you're ready to use them. Select Yes in this alert dialog box to install the addins selected in this list. Keep in mind that Excel needs to access your Office CD-ROM or its files on your network in order to install any of these included add-in programs.
To save computer memory (RAM) that may be needed for doing calculations in the workbook you're editing, you can deactivate any of the add-in programs that you're not currently using. Just open the Add-Ins dialog box, deselect the check box in front of the add-in program's name, and click OK.
Deactivating an add-in does not uninstall the program; it only removes the add-in from the computer's RAM memory. If you deactivate add-ins to save memory, remember to open the Add-Ins dialog box and activate them when you again need access to their functions.
