Sometimes in your daily work routine you might need some extra features from the Microsoft Office Suite.  One way to get extra functionality is through Office Add-Ins.  Sometimes these are bundled with Office but not included with the initial installation.  These are easily accessed and installed.  Here I will show how to install an add-in with Excel.

Open Excel and click on the Office Button and go to Excel Options and then Add-ins.

In the View and Manage Office Add-ins window, near the bottom. make sure “Excel Add-ins” is selected in the drop down box and click Go.

This will open up the Add-Ins window where you can select an appropriate package for your Excel tasks.  If you highlight each Add-In you’re provided a quick description of what each one is.

In this instance I installed the Euro Currency Tools.  After choosing the one you want click OK and accept the default

You will get a progress message while the add-in is installing.

After the add-in is installed it will be available in the Ribbon.  In this case the Euro Currency Tool was place under the Formulas tab other add-ins may vary.

Other times you can install an add-in from downloading an executable from the Microsoft Office site.  For Instance previously I wrote about the Save to PDF add-in for Word 2007.  Another one I featured was adding a Creative Commons license to documents.

Of course there are also third party add-in programs that usually require purchasing a license after a trial period.  You can add a bit of security by making sure add-ins are digitally signed.  This is done through the Trust Center.  Go to the Office Button Options Trust Center Trust Center Settings and finally Add-Ins.

Here you can add or change settings to your preference.  You can even disable them all together.