EXCEL IN M.E. –USING ADD-INS

Jesse HuguetMechanical EngineeringUniversity of Alabama

INTRODUCTIONAll of the files linked on the Excel in M.E. Website are Add-Ins. The files for Excel 97-2003 have the file extension .xla and the Excel 2007 files are .xlam. Using Add-Ins is convenient because once they are applied to your version of Excel they can be used in any spreadsheet you open without extra work. The following steps should be taken to implement the Add-In file of your choice:

1. DOWNLOADING THE FILESFrom the website, right click the hyperlink of the file and select “Save Target As…” from the menu. The picture on the next slide illustrates this step. Choose a location for the file that you will remember, as you will have to relocate it from Excel later.

DOWNLOADING THE FILES

2. ACTIVATING THE ADD-INActivating the Add-In is a one-time step. Start by opening Microsoft Excel 2007. Click on the Office Icon button in the top left corner of the program window. Select the “Excel Options” button at the bottom of the menu. See the next slide for a picture of these steps.

ACTIVATING THE ADD-IN

ACTIVATING THE ADD-IN

Select the “Add-Ins” tab on the left menu and click the “Go…” button at the bottom.

ACTIVATING THE ADD-IN

The Add-Ins menu shown here will appear. Click Browse to apply your Add-In.

Aside: For engineering work, it is always useful to have the Analysis Toolpak and Solver loaded. If they are not, click the box next to their names to check them and select OK to activate.

ACTIVATING THE ADD-IN

Find the location of the Add-In that you saved previously, highlight it, and click the OK button.

ACTIVATING THE ADD-INYou will notice the name of your Add-In joining the previously listed items. Make sure the box beside the Add-In you loaded is checked and click the OK button.

ACTIVATING THE ADD-INThe Add-In is now loaded and will be loaded for every spreadsheet you open. Its functions and macros will be available to any sheet or graph you would like to use them on.