Product Description

Having Excel and just using it for standard spreadsheets is a little like getting the ultimate cable system and a 50” flat panel plasma HDTV and using it exclusively to watch Lawrence Welk reruns. With Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming, you can take advantage of numerous Excel options such as: creating new worksheet functions; automating tasks and operations; creating new appearances, toolbars, and menus; designing custom dialog boxes and add–ins; and much more.

This guide is not for rank Excel amateurs. It’s for intermediate to advanced Excel users who want to learn VBA programming (or whose bosses want them to learn VBA programming). You need to know your way around Excel before you start creating customized short cuts or systems for speeding through Excel functions. If you’re an intermediate or advanced Excel user, Excel VBA For Dummies helps you take your skills (and your spreadsheets) to the next level. It includes:

• An introduction to the VBA language
• A hands–on, guided, step–by–step walk through developing a useful VBA macro, including recording, testing, and changing it, and testing it
• The essential foundation, including the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) and its components, modules, Excel object model, subroutines and functions, and the Excel macro recorder
• The essential VBA language elements, including comments, variables and constants, and labels
• Working with Range objects and discovering useful Range objective properties and methods
• Using VBA and worksheet functions, including a list and examples
• Programming constructions, including the GoTo statement, the If–Then structure, Select Case, For–Next loop, Do–While loop, and Do–Until loop
• Automatic procedures and Workbook events, including a table and event–handler procedures
• Error–handling and bug extermination techniques, and using the Excel debugging tools
• Creating custom dialog boxes, also known as UserForms, with a table of the toolbox controls and their capabilities, how–to for the dialog box controls, and UserForm techniques and tricks
• Customizing the Excel toolbars
• Using VBA code to modify the Excel menu system
• Creating worksheet functions and working with various types of arguments
• Creating Excel add–ins such as new worksheet functions you can use in formulas or new commands or utilities

Author John Walkenbach is a leading authority on spreadsheet software and the author of more than 40 spreadsheet books including Excel 2003 Bible and Excel 2003 Power Programming with VBA. While this guide includes tons of examples and screenshots, Walkenbach knows there’s no substitute for hands–on learning. The book is complete with:

• A dedicated companion Web site that includes bonus chapters plus all sample programs to save you a lot of typing and let you play around and experiment with various changes
• Information to help you make the most of Excel’s built–in Help system so you can find out other stuff you may need to know

What are you waiting for? Sure, learning to do VBA programming takes a little effort, but it’s a Very Big Accomplishment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1471 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-20
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 408 pages

Synopsis
Having Excel and just using it for standard spreadsheets is a little like getting the ultimate cable system and a 50" flat panel plasma HDTV and using it exclusively to watch "Lawrence Welk" reruns. With Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming, you can take advantage of numerous Excel options such as: creating new worksheet functions; automating tasks and operations; creating new appearances, toolbars, and menus; designing custom dialog boxes and add-ins; and much more. This guide is not for rank Excel amateurs. It's for intermediate to advanced Excel users who want to learn VBA programming (or whose bosses want them to learn VBA programming). You need to know your way around Excel before you start creating customized short cuts or systems for speeding through Excel functions. If you're an intermediate or advanced Excel user, "Excel VBA For Dummies" helps you take your skills (and your spreadsheets) to the next level.

It includes: an introduction to the VBA language; a hands-on, guided, step-by-step walk through developing a useful VBA macro, including recording, testing, and changing it, and testing it; the essential foundation, including the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) and its components, modules, Excel object model, subroutines and functions, and the Excel macro recorder; the essential VBA language elements, including comments, variables and constants, and labels; working with Range objects and discovering useful Range objective properties and methods; using VBA and worksheet functions, including a list and examples; and, programming constructions, including the GoTo statement, the If-Then structure, Select Case, For-Next loop, Do-While loop, and Do-Until loop.

It also includes: automatic procedures and Workbook events, including a table and event-handler procedures; error-handling and bug extermination techniques, and using the Excel debugging tools; creating custom dialog boxes, also known as UserForms, with a table of the toolbox controls and their capabilities, how-to for the dialog box controls, and UserForm techniques and tricks; customizing the Excel toolbars; using VBA code to modify the Excel menu system; creating worksheet functions and working with various types of arguments; and, creating Excel add-ins such as new worksheet functions you can use in formulas or new commands or utilities. Author John Walkenbach is a leading authority on spreadsheet software and the author of more than 40 spreadsheet books including "Excel 2003 Bible" and "Excel 2003 Power Programming with VBA". While this guide includes tons of examples and screenshots, Walkenbach knows there's no substitute for hands-on learning.

The book is complete with: a dedicated companion Web site that includes bonus chapters plus all sample programs to save you a lot of typing and let you play around and experiment with various changes; and information to help you make the most of Excel's built-in Help system so you can find out other stuff you may need to know. What are you waiting for? Sure, learning to do VBA programming takes a little effort, but it's a Very Big Accomplishment.

From the Back Cover
Create new functions, automate tasks, and design add–ins

Become an Excel programmer with VBA, and discover what you can make Excel do

If you want to Excel at spreadsheet creation, VBA is your ticket to greatness. And you’re in luck, because "Mr. Spreadsheet" is about to walk you through VBA programming, showing you how to create custom spreadsheets, write macros that make Excel do cool tricks, and more. Open this book and you’re on your way!

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear–out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

• Understand and use VBA
• Automate Excel with macros
• Find what you need in Excel’s Help system
• Design custom dialog boxes, toolbars, and menus
• Develop user–oriented applications
• Create custom commands

About the Author
John Walkenbach is principal of J–Walk and Associates, Inc., a leading Excel expert, and proprietor of the popular spreadsheet page at www.j–walk.com. He has written more than 30 books on Excel.

Customer Reviews

Excellent for programmers who don't know Excel
As a professional programmer I wondered whether this was going to patronise me too much; I needn't have worried, Walkenbach's approach is just right.

He tells it like it is, with plenty of good examples and real world applications for those examples. I'm sure Walkenback doesn't expect this book to teach you everything about Excel and whilst using it I searched for other examples on the 'Net which reinforced what he was teaching me.

But this was the book that provided me with the central learning experience and for which I am eternally grateful. Thanks John!

A good book to start with.
When I set out to learn a completely new technique in programming I like to start by reading a simple book, then follow that up by reading a higher level book. John Walkenbach's work is excellent for the first stage of this process. It is simply written (although I could manage without some of the "humor"), and he explains the basic techniques very well. I would argue with the "for dummies" part of the title, and would describe the book instead (apart from the humor) as suitable for the intelligent reader who starts Chapter 1 knowing little or nothing about VBA, but who is reasonably competent with Excel itself. By the end of Chapter 25, and after trying out some of the worked examples, such a reader should have a reasonable working knowledge of how to write VBA macros.

Excellent for getting familiar with th VBA "basics"!
This book is fantastic for those who know nothing, or next to nothing about VBA programming in Excel, and want to learn the "basics" (no pun intended!).
You can read this book from cover to cover, practising examples on the way , and learning something every chapter. The author also makes reference to an accomanying website where you can download some of the programs to see them in action.
Furthermore, the book is written in very good humour, and you can have a laugh at the same time!
It is however very much a beginner's book, and does not go into great depth with VBA - if you purchase the book with that in mind then you really are on to a winner!