Hello Jac,

Yes you can. Here is how to modify the Start Menu shortcut to open
Excel without a new workbook...

How to Add a Switch to the Microsoft Excel Shortcut
To add a switch to the Microsoft Excel shortcut:
1. Right-click Start, click Open, and then double-click the Programs
folder.
2. Right-click the shortcut for Microsoft Excel, click Properties, and
then click the Shortcut tab.
3. In the Target box, type the switches that you want after the command
that runs Excel.exe. For example, if you want Excel to start without
creating a new workbook, and the Excel.exe file is installed in the
default location, type the following in the Target box:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Excel.exe" /e
4. Click OK.

Note If the options on the Shortcut tab in the Properties dialog box
are not available, your shortcuts are Windows Installer shortcuts. For
more information about how to modify these shortcuts, click the
following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base:
290379 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290379/) Office Shortcut tab is
unavailable

Sincerely,
Leith Ross


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