| | An add-in is a program that can be attached to Excel to give it additional functionality. | |
| | Once an add-in has been installed its functionality is available from any workbook. | |
| | An Excel add-in has the file extension (".xla") and is a workbook that is always open when Excel is open. | |
| | Any workbooks that have been converted to add-ins will have their worksheets hidden. | |
| | Add-ins are specific to a particular application. Excel add-ins are specific to Excel and cannot be used with any other application. | |
| | The (Tools > Add-ins) dialog box will list all the Excel add-ins that are currently available and any that are ticked are currently installed. | |
| | Excel has several add-ins that come as standard and these can be found in the following locations: | |
| | Excel 2003 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11\Library\ | |
| | Excel 2002 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\Library\ | |
| | Excel 2000 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Library\ | |
| | Excel 97 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Library\ | |
| | Your custom worksheet functions will not have to be preceded by the name of the workbook when you use them in your formulas. | |
| | An add-in is easier to distribute and share than a workbook. | |
| | Add-ins can be placed in the Excel start up directory meaning that they are loaded automatically when Excel is opened. | |
| | If you are the only user of an Excel add-in then the VBA code can be easily edited and saved without the need to open or save extra workbooks. | |
| | The Visual Basic code contained in an add-in can be compiled before the workbook is saved. Code in a normal workbook is not compiled until the code is run for the first time. Therefore Visual Basic code contained in an add-in can run slightly faster. | |
| | Any event handling procedures cannot be bypassed by using the Shift key. This ensures that an add-in is always initialised. | |
| | An add-in is almost invisible to the user, especially if you add a command to an existing drop-down menu. This may be more appropriate for inexperienced users that could get confused by having to open up additional workbooks. | |
| | Analysis ToolPak - This provides additional worksheet functions and data analysis tools. For more details about this add-in, please refer to the Analysis ToolPak section. | |
| | Analysis ToolPak - VBA - This allows you to use the additional worksheet functions and data analysis tools directly from your Visual Basic code. | |
| | Conditional Sum Wizard - This creates formula using the SUM and IF functions. This lets you quickly create formulas that are only calculated under specific conditions. For more details about this add-in, please refer to the Conditional Sum Wizard page. | |
| | Euro Currency Tools - This allows conversions from the individual member currencies to Euros or to another member currency at the official prescribed exchange rates. For more details about this add-in, please refer to the Euro Currency Tools page. | |
| | Internet Assistant VBA - Allows developers to publish Excel data to the web. When this add-in is installed an additional "Save as HTML" command appears on the (File) drop-down menu. For more details about this add-in, please refer to the Internet Assistant VBA page. | |
| | LookUp Wizard - This creates formula using the INDEX and MATCH functions. This makes the construction of lookup formulas easier and faster to illustrate how these are constructed. For more details about this add-in, please refer to the Lookup Wizard page. | |
| | Solver - This can be used to help optimise a formula based on constraints of its precedent cells. For more details about this add-in, please refer to the Solver Add-in page. | |
| | Access Links - see above | |
| | Analysis ToolPak - see above | |
| | Analysis ToolPak - VBA - see above | |
| | AutoSave - This add-in will allow your workbooks to be saved automatically after a certain period of time. There are options as to whether to save all open workbooks or just the active workbook. If you find the prompting annoying it can be removed by pressing (Tools > AutoSave, "Prompt before saving"). | |
| | File Conversion Wizard - This creates formula that sums only the items in a list that meets a specific criteria. | |
| | Integration Bookshelf - This supports a lookup and copy facilities to Excel from Microsoft Bookshelf application. | |
| | LookUp Wizard - see above | |
| | ODBC - This is short for Open Database Connectivity and allows you to connect to external data sources using ODBC drivers. Please refer to the SQL.REQUEST() page for more details. | |
| | Report Manager - This lets you define a number of reports that can contain various print ranges from within your workbook, different custom views and scenarios. Please refer to the Report Manager page for more details. | |
| | Template Utilities - This provides utilities used by spreadsheet solutions templates. This is loaded automatically when you use one of these templates. | |
| | Template Wizard - This helps you to create worksheet templates. When this add-in is installed an additional "Template Wizard" command appears on the (Data) drop-down menu. For more details about this add-in, please refer to the Template Wizard with Data Tracking page. | |
| | Web Form Wizard - This takes you through creating an HTML table from a range in an Excel spreadsheet. | |
