When working in Excel, buttons will sometimes appear based on the context of your current actions. These buttons will provide a menu of options related to the information you are entering or the action you are performing. A Smart Tag is a button that appears in response to information you enter in a worksheet.

As an example, if you are working in Excel 2003, and you enter the letters XRX in a cell, a small purple triangle will appear in the lower right corner of the cell. This indicates the presence of a smart tag.

In this case, XRX happens to be the stock exchange symbol for Xerox Corporation. If you let your mouse pointer hover over the triangle a small button will appear.

If you move your mouse pointer over the button, a drop down list will become available. Click the downward pointing triangle (list indicator) and a menu of options will appear.

If you have an internet connection, you can click one of the Smart Tag options and receive online information about this company, and moreover, you can insert information about the company’s stock into your worksheet.