If you use Microsoft Excel 2010 often, you may want to make its program option a permanent part of the Windows Start menu or taskbar. This enables you to start the Excel 2010 program with just a click or two.
The commands to pin (or unpin) Excel 2010 to the Start menu or taskbar apply to computers with Windows 7 installed. If you are using Windows Vista, you can add the Excel icon to the Quick Launch toolbar. To do so, drag the Excel desktop shortcut icon from the Windows desktop to the Quick Launch toolbar, to the immediate right of the Start button in the taskbar.
Pinning Excel to the Start menu
Follow these steps to pin the Excel 2010 program icon to the Windows 7 Start menu:
Start Excel from the Windows Start menu.
After starting Excel, Windows adds Microsoft Excel 2010 to the Recently Used section on the left side of the Windows Start menu (if it wasn't there already).
Click the Start menu and then right-click Microsoft Excel 2010 to open its shortcut menu.
Click Pin to Start Menu on the shortcut menu.
After pinning Excel in this manner, Excel 2010 always appears in the upper section of the left-hand column of the Start menu. You can now start Excel simply by clicking the Start button and then clicking this option.
If you later decide to remove Excel from the pinned area of the Start menu, click the Start button, right-click Microsoft Excel 2010 in the Start menu, and select Unpin from Start Menu.
Pinning Excel to the Windows 7 taskbar
If your computer runs Windows 7, you can add a Microsoft Excel 2010 icon to the standard Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, and Windows Media Player buttons on its taskbar.
To do this, drag the Microsoft Excel 2010 icon that you've either pinned to the Windows Start menu (see the preceding section) or that you've added as a shortcut to the Windows desktop and drag and drop it into its desired position on the Windows 7 taskbar.
After you pin an Excel 2010 icon to the Windows 7 taskbar, the button appears on the Windows taskbar each time you start your computer, and you can start Excel simply by single-clicking its button. To remove the button from the taskbar, right-click the button and choose Unpin This Program from Taskbar.