SOLUTIONS
Introduction
Purpose
Behind every Microsoft Office Application is a powerful programming language that is typically under utilised by most organisations. This isn't true for the finance industry, but why is it only the finance industry that appear to rely on it? I dont know the answer, but I do know that I have found a place for VBA Applications in almost every industry I have worked in. In my opinion VBA is so powerful that everyone who uses Microsoft Office Applications should have at least a basic understanding of VBA and this site is dedicated to raising awareness and providing an insight into what is possible.
Why VBA?
Programming has traditionally been the domain of the IT professional, but why? The fact is that many IT Professionals have a cursory knowledge of VBA, dismissing it as a pale imitation of a proper programming language like VB or C++. Many IT professionals also only have a basic user understanding of the Microsoft Office Applications and so are not familiar with built in features. So VBA falls in the gap between poorly educated users and dismissive IT professionals, but I believe VBA should be given more serious consideration and here are some of the reasons why:
- It is incredibly flexible and once you can programme in one Office Application you can apply those skills to other Office applications.
- If you have been through the task of migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 you will know that software can soon become redundant. This isn’t true of VBA. Most code written in Office 97 or earlier will still run in Office 2010. Where this is not true it usually only requires minor code modifications.
- The MS Office environment is familiar to most users of the finished application minimising the need for training.
- You already have the software so there are no licencing costs, just development costs / time.
A basic understanding of VBA can be used in so many situations and a few examples can be found here.