Finding the Analysis ToolPak Add-In

Karen needs the Analysis ToolPak add-in for a school project, but she cannot find her Microsoft Office CDs. Karen is wondering if there is any way to get this add-in without the CDs.

The need for the Office CDs is odd, as both Excel 2007 and Excel 2010 install the Analysis ToolPak by default. The only way that it should not be on your system is if you manually removed it or someone else installed Excel and specifically chose not to install it.

Be that as it may, the first thing you will want to do is make sure that it isn't already installed and just not activated. (Installation is only one step in using the Analysis ToolPak. If you don't activate the add-in, you can't use it.) The easiest way to check is to simply display the Add-ins dialog box.

You can display the Add-ins dialog box by first displaying the Excel Options dialog box. (If you are using Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. If you are using Excel 2010 display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.) Click Add-ins at the left side of the screen, make sure Excel Add-Ins is selected in the drop-down list at the bottom of the screen, and then click Go. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Add-ins dialog box.

If the Analysis ToolPak is listed in the dialog box, then simply select the check box beside the add-in, click OK, and you can start to use it.

If the Analysis ToolPak is, indeed, not listed in the Add-ins dialog box, then you need to install it. The easiest way to do this is with the Office Setup program, but that won't do you any good if you don't have the Office CDs. In that case, you should check to see if these four files are on your system. (Use the Windows Search function to look for them, while Excel is closed.)

• ANALYS32.XLL
• FUNCRES.XLAM
• ATPVBAEN.XLAM
• PROCDB.XLAM

You need all four of these files to use the full functionality of the Analysis ToolPak; they should be located within the following default installation directory:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Library\Analysis

This particular path is for Office 2007; the "Office12" portion of the path will change depending on the version of Excel you are using. (If you are using Excel 2010 change it to Office14; there was no Office13 designation.)

If you locate the files on your system, but they are not in the proper directory, you can copy them all there. If they are not on your system, or if you are missing some of them, then you can copy them from someone else's machine—provided that person is using the same version of Excel you are.

You could also do a search on the Internet for the names of the files that make up the Analysis ToolPak. You'll want to make sure that the site on which you find the files appears reputable and that the files are for the same version of Excel that you are using.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10522) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007 and 2010. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Finding the Analysis ToolPak Add-In.