Analysis ToolPak

If you are an Excel user who is continuing to get deeper into data analysis in Excel, you will probably want to investigate an often-overlooked set of tools that are available. The Analysis ToolPak is an Add-In program that is available when you install Microsoft Office.

First of all, you need to load it onto your ribbon (Excel 2010 will be used for the example):

1. Click on File, and then click Options.

2. Select Add-Ins, and then in the Manage box, choose Excel Add-ins.

3. Click Go.

4. In the Add-Ins Available box, select the Analysis ToolPak check box, and then click OK. (See illustration):

You can then access a special Data Analysis group on your Data ribbon.

So, what sort of Cool Tools are available in the ToolPak? Among others, there are the following:

• Anova
• Correlation
• Covariance
• Descriptive Statistics
• Exponential Smoothing
• Fourier Analysis
• Histogram
• Moving Average
• Rank and Percentile

Each of the tools provides a very User-Friendly Wizard, and the results will likely be quite useful to any Analyst or Excel Guru-Wannabee.

Special Note: If you are using an older version of Excel, you should know that many Improvements were made, and new algorithms were created to improve the accuracy of the statistical, financial and math functions in ToolPak. That being said, the previous versions are quite suitable for a majority of business purposes.

The Analysis ToolPak. A worthy addition to your Excel Tool Belt!