Sub Return_a_Value_from_Excel()
Dim mySpreadsheet As Excel.Workbook
Dim strSalesTotal As String
Set mySpreadsheet = GetObject("your.xls")
strSalesTotal = mySpreadsheet.Application.Range("SalesTotal").Value
Set mySpreadsheet = Nothing
Selection.TypeText "Current sales total: $" & strSalesTotal & "."
Selection.TypeParagraph
End Sub