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  Starting Excel
There are several ways to start the Excel program. 
The slowest way A slow way The fastest way
  1. Left-click the Start button wpeD1.jpg (1297 bytes)
  2. Select Programs
  3. Select Office97
  4. Left-click Microsoft Excel
  1. Left-click the Start button
  2. Left-click New Office Document
  3. Double-click Blank Workbook
  1. Find an Excel file using Windows Explorer
  2. Double-click the file name
Left-click means click once with the left-hand mouse button. Double-click means click twice with the left-hand mouse button. Excel files either have an Excel icon or show the file extension .xls.  Run Windows Explorer using Start | Programs | Windows Explorer.
Learn more
You can also:

Find recently opened documents using Start | Documents.   Some of these may include the Excel files you were recently working on (if any).

or

Use the Microsoft Office Toolbar (if it shows on your machine) to open a new Office document (e.g. a new blank workbook) or to open existing documents.  You can hover your mouse over any of the toolbar icons for a brief description of what the icon does.