[NB: This is a non-password protected educational piece for members of my Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club]
In 2007, it cost my brother-in-law (Segun Ogunlana) about $34 USD to buy me a copy of the 1st edition of Professional Excel Development: The Definitive Guide to Developing Applications Using Microsoft Excel, VBA, and .NET
Today, given the crazy Nigerian Naira Exchange rate of N430 to $1 USD, that US dollar sum comes to approximately N15,000 (Fifteen Thousand Naira).
Now, even though this Excel Bible offers a lot more than the FREE Excel-VB PDF learning resource I will talk about further down, added to the fact that it is not really for beginners, I believe (and I explain why, below) getting the PDF ebook I recommend here for FREE is really a bargain!
Below are screenshots from selected pages of this PDF
I should add here that the author got my attention the most when I saw the effort he made to provide examples of how to use FORMS(intelligently enhanced with ActiveX controls) as data sources in automating MS Excel – (as can be seen from the interfaces in my apps – click here) for the ease of use it affords users, especially those who are novices or not Excel savvy.
I’ve never believed in reinventing the wheel:
Just knowing how to code, no matter how good you are, is not enough.
It’s important to establish a guiding philosophy to steer you right in doing what you do, if you want to succeed for the long term.
My background in Best Practice and Continuous Improvement based Performance Improvement has always helped me stay focused on what matters, which is GETTING NEEDED RESULTS and SOLVING PROBLEMS in a way that meets felt needs, resulting in progress for my clients – and, by implication, me.
Being skilled is only one dimension of the requirements for succeeding in any field.
Excel-VB Programming is no exception.
I say all this to impress upon you the importance of having the right mindset and orientation to deliver Excel-VB solutions that work for others.
A sound understanding of the experience based insights I share here can make a less skilled Excel-VB expert achieve greater success in terms of solving client problems as well as making money, compared to a rival who is more gifted at coding, but lacks these insights.
To put it simply, you will be all about using your know-how to solve user’s problem and NOT to impress or intimidate them. In otherwords, no attitude issues – which is a challenge some gifted programmers tend to have!
My understanding of the above, is why – In coaching others to program MS Excel using VBA – I regularly point them towards resources, on and off the web, that they can take advantage of, beyond whatever I may offer them, to become more proficient in VBA Solutions Development.
As I explained above, I belong to the school of thought that one must avoid falling into the mental trap of placing too much emphasis on programming or coding for the sake of it.
Instead, especially for those of us engaged in use of MS Excel to develop custom apps for busy users with unique needs, we MUST NEVER lose sight of the fact that solving the problem of our “user” is why we exist as providers.
So, we simply cannot afford to fall into the mindset of (some) conventional programmers who tend to be rigid in the way they go about doing what they do, and who typically refuse to try interacting with prospective end users in a manner that makes it easy for the latter to influence the development process.
It is my considered opinion, that to succeed in using MS Excel programming, one must think and act like a SOLUTIONS DEVELOPER and not just as a PROGRAMMER.
To do that, you will need to remember at all times that showing off your coding skills is not needed. Instead, learning how to optimally utilize your knowledge of MS Excel-VB Programming, to produce results specified by your client or employer will be the key to your long term success.
Without the above understanding, anyone who ventures into programming, especially using MS Excel-VB is likely to encounter considerable difficulty giving clients what they want, in a manner that satisfies them.
The above mentioned philosophy has over the years guided me to make efficient and effective use of my time and effort in serving clients.
So, rather than obsess excessively over coding to impress clients, I have learned to identify smart and time/effort saving ways to deliver results my clients want.
Sometimes doing that actually requires doing LESS or NO coding, and instead exploring smart techniques for using the MS Excel engine itself to deliver the desired automation.
A good example is the powerful dynamic report generation template shown below, that I created for the National Distribution Manager of a Telecoms Multinational during a private coaching session I had with him.
Click below or here to visit the page where I use two videos to show this powerful report in use (scroll half-way down the page)
Without using a single line of code, and depending ONLY on spreadsheet based features and functions in Excel, I setup the above shown interface that enabled him generate ANY scenarios he wanted at the click of a mouse on a menu item or button.
This is what I mean when I tell those I coach that the right mindset/mental attitude or THINKING is crucial to succeeding in Excel-VB Solutions Development.
[RECOMMENDED] Programming In Excel VBA – An Introduction (.pdf File) – By J.Latham
The above explained mental attitude is what makes me keen to expose those who learn from me, to resources that I have found helpful in developing myself to function competently as required.
This week, I refer you to a useful PDF resource, which – though a bit dated – having been prepared based on an old version of MS Excel, still offers considerably useful information and education for Successful VBA Programming in MS Excel.
Not only does it feature useful techniques and concepts, it also provides real world relevant examples and illustrations of virtually every aspect of VBA coding you will need to know to function competently as a developer.
Most importantly, it offers references to other expert resources, in form of highly competent/recognized MS Excel -VB professionals whose works you can study.
Now, here’s the best part: Despite offering such a comprehensive body of ready-to-use practical tips and wisdom on Excel-VB Solutions Development, this PDF does NOT cost anything i.e it is 100% FREE!
And that’s why I recommend that you download and read this PDF. Click here to visit the author’s site, where the PDF and several useful Projects Workbooks (with project code visible in the Visual Basic Editor) are available for download and study.
Like I said, it is a bit dated, but I believe it still offers useful foundation that you can build on.
Indeed it is instructive to note that there are still MANY business users who still work in older versions of MS Excel, due to the fact that they feel their needs continue to be well catered for by those versions (say from 2003 upwards).
As a developer, you need to take pains to make your solutions reasonably backward compatible, to ensure you don’t alienate a section of your target users who may be using relatively older Excel versions.
Only people who use pirated versions of the latest MS Excel will find it hard to understand why someone would choose not to install the so called latest version of Excel on his/her PC.
In developed societies for example, where piracy is not widespread, most business users do a cost-benefit analysis in order to decide whether or not to pay what is often NOT a light fee to upgrade to the new or latest version.
So, any developer looking to build and sell apps to such users would need to make his/her apps adaptable to running trouble-free on old as well as new versions.
In the course of future tutorials, I will periodically refer you to the contents of this PDF, to facilitate your comprehension of project based exercises you will be doing.