Hello Leonard M,

I'm Shalom and I'd happily help you with your question. In this forum, we are Microsoft consumers just like yourself.

To add puts and calls to an Excel spreadsheet, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Organize Your Data Before adding puts and calls, make sure you have the relevant information for each option, such as the option type (put or call), the strike price, the expiration date, the underlying stock symbol, the option's current price, etc. Organize this data in a table format in Excel.

Step 2: Understand Option Symbols Option symbols are specific codes used to identify each option contract. The symbol includes information about the underlying stock, the expiration date, and the strike price. For example, AAPL210729C00275000 is the symbol for an Apple (AAPL) call option that expires on July 29, 2021, with a strike price of $275.

Step 3: Use the "Concatenate" Function (Optional) If you don't already have the option symbols in your data, you can use the "Concatenate" function in Excel to generate the option symbols based on the available data. For example, if your data has columns for the stock symbol, expiration date, option type (put or call), and strike price, you can use CONCATENATE or "&" to combine them into the option symbol.

Step 4: Import Option Data (Optional) If you have access to financial data services or APIs, you can import real-time or historical option data directly into Excel. Various add-ins and APIs allow you to fetch financial data and stock prices.

Step 5: Calculate Option Values (Optional) You can use Excel formulas to calculate option values based on the Black-Scholes or other pricing models if you have the necessary data (underlying stock price, strike price, time to expiration, implied volatility, etc.). This step is optional but can be helpful for option traders.

Step 6: Format the Data Apply appropriate formatting to your data, such as bolding headers, adding borders, and using color-coding to make the information more readable.

Step 7: Update Data (Optional) If you have real-time data connections or APIs, you can set up Excel to automatically update option prices and other relevant information.

Step 8: Create Charts (Optional) If you want to visualize your option data, you can create charts in Excel to display how option prices change with underlying stock price, time to expiration, etc.

Please note that while Excel is a versatile tool, it may not be the most efficient platform for complex options trading strategies. Professional traders often use dedicated options trading platforms that provide more sophisticated tools and real-time data. Nonetheless, for basic tracking and analysis of options, Excel can be a useful starting point.

Best Regards, Shalom