open excel files and search for (MAX) value in column

I am trying to write experiment to search a number of excel files in a folder, and report the file name and the maximum value of a column. I'm not a programmer by a longshot, and I haven't done anything like this before, so I'm looking for tips on how to's... :)

[Walter Roberson]

Please see http://matlab.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#How_can_I_process_a_sequence_of_files.3F

[my8950]

Thanks for the link, I will check it out and try to adapt it to the excel files. I'm sure I'll have more questions.