Favourite Free Excel Add-ins

Excel has some powerful features, but it's not perfect. To add to its capabilities, I use a few free add-ins that make Excel even better, and asked other people what free add-ins they use, and would recommend.

NOTE: After a recent Microsoft update, some Excel add-ins (mine and others) are not loading correctly. To show the add-ins, follow the instructions here.

Favourite Free Excel Add-ins

Here's a list of free Excel add-ins, and I and other Excel users recommend. Maybe you'll see a few add-ins that you can download and install, and make working in Excel a bit easier.

NOTE: Please read the terms of use for these utilities, before you install them. Some are free for personal use, but might require a licence for commercial use. Also, some free add-ins might be discontinued, or change to paid versions only. If any of these are no longer free, please let me know and I will remove them from the list.

Add-In	Developer	Note
AET VBE Tools	Andrew Engwirda	Tools for working with code in the VBE Andrew has other free tools, including Custom Lists and XL Help Files Maker
ASAP Utilities		Large collection of utilities
AutoSafe	Jan Karel Pieterse	Copies open workbooks at regular intervals
Button Editor	Andy Pope	Edit button images
Excel Contact Tools	Max Schmeling	Save time when working with contact details (e.g. that of your co-workers) in the Active Directory. Open Source
Excel Essential Tools	Max Schmeling	Extends default functionality of Excel with more than 50 tools. Open Source
FindLink	Bill Manville	Look for hidden links in a workbook
FlexFind	Jan Karel Pieterse	Search entire workbook, including buttons, etc.
FormulaDesk add-in		Formula tools, for Excel 2010 and later
MenuRighter	Doug Glancy	Excel addin that lets you modify right-click menus. See the video demo in the next section.
MZ Tools		Tools for working with VBA
Name Manager	Jan Karel Pieterse	Find names with errors and delete them, or track names that link to another workbook
Navigator Utilities		Navigate and audit workbooks
Pivot Power Free	Contextures	Tools for working with Pivot Tables
Thesaurus for Excel		Find words with similar meaning
XLG Favourites	Ken Puls	Manage list of favourite files

Video Demo: MenuRighter

For an easy way to customize the right-click menu, get a copy of Doug Glancy's free Excel tool, the MenuRighter Add-in.

To see the steps for adding a command to a right-click menu, by using the free MenuRighter add-in, watch this short video.

For more instructions, and to download the MenuRighter add-in, you can visit Doug Glancy's website: MenuRighter Add-in.

Excel Add-in Tips and Links

For more tips and links, go to my Excel add-ins page. Topics include:

• how to install and use Excel add-ins
• what to do if an Add-in tab doesn't appear after you install it
• how to save your own Excel file as an add-in
• time saving Excel add-ins available to buy

Thanks to Contributors

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the discussion:

• sam, Mathias, Patrick O'Beirne,
• Bob Phillips, Ross, JP, Jon Peltier,
• Jim Cone, Bob R, Jason Morin,
• Shahbaz, and Barbara.

More Links

How to Install an Add-in

Sheet Navigator Add-in

Tools for Managing Workbooks