Sometimes Excel alone is not enough, so David Ringstrom offers advice on how to install and track add-ins that extend the application.
Excel’s ability to incorporate add-in programs has been one of its core strengths for years. Some programs offer built-in functionality that you may not need or want, such as the Adobe Acrobat toolbar that allows you to output PDFs. But with this function available within the program since Excel 2007, do you need another set of options?
In other cases, an add-in that you rely on may suddenly vanish from Excel. This article explain how to keep a good handle on the features you install.
Common accounting programs such as Sage 50 Accounts and QuickBooks also add extra ribbon tabs to Excel. This is great if you need these tools, but unwanted add-ins can cause Excel to take longer to launch and can crowd your Excel interface:
Here's how to manage add-ins in Excel 2010:
- Click File-Options, and then Add-ins, as shown below.
- Click the drop-down at the bottom and choose COM Add-ins, and then click Go.
- Enable or disable add-ins as needed, and then click OK as needed.
These steps should handle most add-ins that surreptitiously appear in Excel, but another place to check is the Excel Add-ins list:
The steps are the same for Excel 2007, except you'll click the Office button in the top left-hand corner, and then choose Excel options. From there, follow steps 3 through 9 in the image above. In Excel 2003 and earlier, click the Tools menu, choose Add-ins, and then make your selections.
From time to time, an add-in you rely on may disappear from your Excel menu or not function correctly. If Excel deems that the add-in has caused an issue, it will automatically place the add-in on a hidden disabled list. To determine if any add-ins have been disabled in Excel 2007 or 2010, follow steps 1 through 4 in the illustration above, and then choose Disabled Items in step 5. A prompt will appear from which you can enable any add-ins if necessary, shown below. In Excel 2003, click Help, About Microsoft Excel, and then click the Disabled Items button.
About the author
"Either you work Excel, or it works you!" says David Ringstrom CPA, the head of Atlanta-based software and database consultancy Accounting Advisors. He presents Excel training webcasts for CPE Link and contributes articles on Excel to AccountingWEB and Microsoft Professional Accountant's Network newsletter. He can be reached by email at david[AT]acctadv.com. You can find further ExcelZone tutorials from David H Ringstrom here.