Using the Research Tool

The Research task pane contains a number of research tools to help you work in Excel. You can use the Research task pane to look up the definition of a word in the Encarta Dictionary, or to look up synonyms for a word in the Thesaurus. The Research task pane also gives you access to business and financial sites for looking up information about a company or checking for the latest stock price.

To use the Research task pane to look up a stock quote:

1. Click the Tools menu and select Research...
2. Type the stock symbol in the Search for: box.
3. Click the Search for: arrow and select MSN Money Stock Quotes.
4. Click the Start Searching button.
5. The information for the stock appears in the task pane, including the most recent price, the change for the day, and the percent change for the day.
6. Click the Insert Price button to insert the stock quote into your spreadsheet.

To use the Research task pane to look up information about a company:

1. Click the Tools menu and select Research...
2. Type the name of the company in the Search for: box.
3. Click the Search for: arrow and select Gale Company Profiles.
4. Click the Start Searching button.
5. A list of companies and their information appears in the task pane.

• Click the Detailed Quote link below the Insert Price button to launch Internet Explorer and view more information on the MSN Money Web site. However, in order to use these links, you must have Internet Explorer 5.1 or higher installed as your Web browser.
• If you do not know the exact company name, you can type part of the name and click the Start Searching button. A list of possible companies will appear in the task pane. If the company you are looking for does not appear, keep trying until you find the company you are looking for.

In addition to looking up business and financial information, you can use the Research task pane for researching other information. Be aware that some of these services may charge a fee to access their content.

• Encarta Dictionary—displays a list of definitions for the word or words you enter.
• Thesaurus—displays a list of synonyms for the word or words you enter. Click a synonym to insert it into your spreadsheet.
• Encarta Encyclopedia—displays a list of articles from the Encarta online encyclopedia which contain the word or words you enter. Click a link to launch Internet Explorer and navigate to the MSN Encarta Web site. Note: You must register and pay a fee to use this service.
• MSN Search—displays a list of Web sites which contain the word or words you enter. Click a link to launch Internet Explorer and navigate to a site.