Microsoft Office

Part VI
Programming Excel with VBA
n
To store proprietary macros. If you don’t want end users to see (or modify) your macros, store
the macros in an add-in and protect the VBA project with a password. A user can use the macros,
but they can’t view or change them unless the user knows the password. An additional benefit is
that the add-in doesn’t display a workbook window, which can be distracting.
As previously noted, Excel ships with several useful add-ins (see the sidebar “Add-Ins Included with
Excel”), and you can acquire other add-ins from third-party vendors or the Internet. In addition, Excel
includes the tools that enable you to create your own add-ins. I explain this process later in the chapter (see
“Creating Add-Ins”).
Working with Add-Ins
The best way to work with add-ins is to use Excel’s Add-In Manager. To display the Add-In Manager:
1. Choose Office ➪ Excel Options
2. In the Excel Options dialog box, select the Add-Ins category
3. At the bottom of the dialog box, select Excel Add-Ins from the Manage list and click Go.
Excel displays its Add-Ins dialog box, shown in Figure 45.1. The list box contains all the add-ins that Excel
knows about. Those checked are currently open. You can open and close add-ins from this dialog box by
selecting or deselecting the check boxes.
FIGURE 45.1
The Add-Ins dialog box.
You can also open most add-in files can by choosng Office ➪ Open. After an add-in is opened,
CAUTION
however, you can’t choose Office ➪ Close to close it. The only way to remove the add-in is to
exit and restart Excel or to write a macro to close the add-in. Therefore, you’re usually better off opening the
add-ins by using the Add-Ins dialog box.
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