Microsoft Excel 2000 Power Programming with VBA [With CDROM]

by John Walkenbach

With the latest version of Visual Basic for Applications and the new Office Component Object Model, Excel 2000 now provides an amazing platform for the development of custom spreadsheets and turnkey... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764532634
• ISBN13: 9780764532634
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Wiley Publishing
• Length: 869 Pages
• Weight: 3.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 7.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Never say never...

I am a software developer, and I've never liked the computer "big books" published for lay people.Until this one.This book is well-written, well-organized, well-thought-out, and well worth every penny. Instead of complex examples (and I've seen plenty of them), John presents simple, brilliantly clear examples that are distilled down to show the exact point he is trying to make, which makes the book very easy to follow.

Indispensable Reference Tool

I spend a lot of time writing Excel macros for my current employer and I can tell you that Excel 2000 Power Programming with VBA has been an invaluable tool. I was familiar with VBA (novice level) before purchasing the book and I feel I've been learning new code at an exponential rate thanks to John Walkenbach's exceptionally clear examples. You really can do some powerful stuff with VBA and Walkenbach is a gifted (and entertaining) teacher. If you have no previous experience, you will be amazed at how easy it is to create professional looking message boxes, input boxes, and even custom multi-page dialog boxes. Walkenbach demonstrates how to add and remove buttons from toolbars and menus, work with cell and range data, use "ActiveX" controls (such as option buttons, check boxes, and combo boxes), run procedures when certain events occur (such as opening a workbook or clicking on the right mouse button), and even how to use API calls to perform functions that are normally outside the scope of VBA (such as identifying the path to the Windows folder or identifying the printer port). All of the code examples (and there are plenty of them) are clearly explained. Walkenbach doesn't just list page after page of code an expect you to figure out what each line accomplishes. Instead, he defines all of the objects and properties he uses and explains the methods he uses to manipulate them. You won't be overwhelmed by the complexity of the code but you will be thrilled about how powerful your macros are. I'll give you an example from my own experience to demonstrate the usefulness of Excel 2000 Power Programming with VBA. I had created several worksheets templates at my job to be used by other employees. I locked several cells that contained formulas because I didn't want the employees to be able to change them. It quickly came to my attention, though, that people could inadvertently destroy the formulas by using Excel's "cut" function on unlocked cells that the formulas referenced. I needed to disable Excel's "cut" function whenever the workbook in question was active. Using the book I found out how to remove the "cut" button from both the "Edit" menu and the standard toolbar, disable the shortcut menu that pops up whenever you right click on a worksheet object (which also contains the "cut" button), and disable Excel's cell drag and drop feature since it produces the same results as the "cut" function. I just inserted the relevant code in the "ThisWorkbook" module as Walkenbach explains, and now nobody can accidentally screw up the protected formulas.I think it's important to note, though, that while this book is OK for novice programmers, it assumes the reader is already very familiar with Excel's tools and functions. Don't buy it if you aren't already an advanced Excel end-user. Some previous experience with VBA would also help, but since Walkenbach spends a good portion of text discussing foundational concepts and providing entry-level c

Excellent Book for VBA programmers and Begineers too

I have written some Excel macros that work with CSV files. After buying this book I have been able to reduce my code to a great extent. It has added to my knowledge of built in Excel-VBA functions and I am very happy with the purchase. This book can be very well considered an Excel VBA bible. Here are some of the good points about this book: 1. Code snippets for most frequent tasks. The author uses Excel's built in definitions and makes it look very easy. 2. The examples at the end of each chapter(and on the CD rom). This library is HUGE!. I love it. It includes more than 100 macros. Some macros include batch processing of files, undoing a macro, putting a progress indicator for a macro... and lot others. :) 3. The author, John W provides great support. He replied to me within 24 hours when I emailed a problem with a macro. That was very cool.All in all, good worth for the money. Good luck

Superb Book for VBA

This is a wonderful book which can be used to learn VBA, as well as a reference for later use. This book distinguishes itself from others in these respects: (1) As a C and Fortran programmer, I like a bottom-up, structured programming approach; rules about the language, semantics, and other useful issues. This book layes it out in 4 solid chapters. Then, it goes on to describe Userforms and Controls, more advanced VB concepts. This is great for somebody with a Science/Engineering/Finance bent.(2) All other VB books I have read take a muddled approach wherby they depict fragmented examples, usually about how to record a macro and see the ensuing code (as opposed to writing code from scratch) and after a few pages you realize the utter INCOHERENCE. This book highlights the structured programming approach: few basic rules and principles, build on from there. A solid book, along with a useful CD. Additionally, a clear and conversational style of writing makes this a really goob book.

Excellent Book!

I bought this book after looking at several others. I read 150 pages in the first day alone. Excellent resource! I've been using excel for three years now and finally decided to take my knowledge regarding excel to the next level. I chose the correct book to help me do so. Walkenbach is called "Mr. Spreadsheet" for a reason. He knows what he is talking about. There is no fluff or filler in this book. Every page is packed with valuable information. I recomend this book over other Excel VBA books I have looked at. Very well done. The CD is also a great resource.