Community Blogs

So, after a stalled update last week, we have managed to update the Excel User Group site. It has a stronger 'community' feel with friends that make it easier to track contributions by your favourite authors for example. Files are now stored under 'Media' and we will be looking to add videos at some point in the future, that will stream in an embedded viewer in the site. private messages have become 'Conversations' and these are viewable on you own personal home page, which...

Good morning all from a not so sunny Cologne, Germany. (On my travels). Just though I would announce we now have our 200th registered user! (without counting all the lurkers out their, which if you look at anytime of the guests on line is always around 10. (Click on forums link and it is there)). Our 200th registrant was cgcordry who actually shows as 202, but I have two user IDs (Admin and TestUser), so they don't count. Thanks to all for making this a valuable, vibrant and growing community...

In a previous post , I showed a way of automating and/or simplifying Excel by processing many data records through a single sheet using data tables, rather like a merge. If you liked that, you should love this more advanced tool, written in VBA. It is generic enough to be used on a wide range of projects without modification, so I'll call it an automation "engine" below. If you find it useful, it is free to use and modify, providing you don't claim undue credit or sell it. It was...

I build complex spreadsheets, and I often have trouble fitting everything into Excel tables - I'd really like a way of simplifying things. At other times, I want to run a set of different scenarios through a spreadsheet, and I'd like to automate them to be self-updating. There is a code-free solution to both these problems which has been there all along, but I didn't see it until a few years ago. It exploits data tables, an almost forgotten feature of Excel. If you have the same problems...

When I present spreadsheet results to clients, there are always several variables that I know the clients will want to play with ("What if this was higher, or if that was lower, or if I could see just those 3 items..."). This means I need to give the client choices and options, but I need to make them simple to use and have the model respond immediately. I've put together a collection of some techniques which you may find useful for this. Specifically, how to make charts or lists dynamically...

The best work in the world is undervalued if presented badly. Suppose you've built a big model with lots of results to show. Imagine having a single Results sheet, with a list of charts and tables. Each time you select one, it appears like magic on the screen, replacing the one that was there before. Best of all, it needs no VBA code whatsoever! There are two ways I know of to do it. Both are demonstrated in this file ( Dynamic UI.xls ). 1. Hyperlinks A simple method is simply to create a hyperlink...

We have now enabled attachments for registered users of forum posts to make it easier to explain some issues or for responders to pass along demo's, etc. There is a file limit on these files so if they bomb you out that is likely the cause. Zipping the file is obviously preferable. Bear in mind also that if the file has general appeal, it can be uploaded to the downloads section for everybody to be aware of. We are still tinkering behind the scenes here to get the experience just right, so some...