Excel VBA Programming For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

  Author:    John Walkenbach, John Walkenbach
  ISBN:    0764574124
  Sales Rank:    12853
  Published:    2004-08-09
  Publisher:    For Dummies
  # Pages:    408
  Binding:    Paperback
  Avg. Rating:    5.0 based on 25 reviews
  Used Offers:    20 from $13.34
  Amazon Price:    $16.49
  (Data above last updated:  2008-12-04 06:49:50 EST)
  
  
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Excel VBA Programming For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
  
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.

  • Shows ordinary users how to harness the power of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and create custom Excel applications
  • This book introduces people to a wide array of new Excel options, including creating new worksheet functions, automating tasks and operations, creating new toolbars and menus, designing custom dialog boxes and add-ins, and much more
  • Begins with the most important tools and operations for the Visual Basic Editor, then provides an overview of the essential elements and concepts for programming with Excel
  • John Walkenbach, a.k.a. "Mr. Spreadsheet," runs a popular Web site (www.j-walk.com) on Excel techniques and is the author of many bestselling books on Excel
  •                   Reader Reviews 1 - 20 of 20                 
      
      
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    Reader Reviews Below Sorted by Newest First
    10-13-08 4 (NA)
    (Hide Review...)  Excellent Book
    Reviewer Permalink
    I purchased this book as an assist to me - to build upon the knowledge that I have already, regarding Macros and VBA. I know some VB6, and am translating that knowledge through this book. I don't think that I am alone in asserting that any type of "Dummies" book provides good insight/information to those who may even have some existing knowledge of the topic. I will probably purchase another more intermediate book for VBA programming, to extend the experience. The purchase came very quickly as Amazon always does !
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2008-12-04 06:52:31 EST)
    07-11-08 1 3\3
    (Hide Review...)  Doesn't work
    Reviewer Permalink
    The book is poorly written and poorly organized. The book covers very similar types of processes using different syntax without explaining why it used different VB code, so one wonders what why it uses one type of code here and another type of code there. Literally, the book has codes which, when I type verbatim, generates errors. Thoroughly frustrating book. Breezing and useless.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2008-10-14 06:45:38 EST)
    05-12-08 5 (NA)
    (Hide Review...)  Exactly what I needed
    Reviewer Permalink
    This book is exactly what I needed. I know several program languages so I just needed a good introduction to syntax and the basic functions. This was what I needed. Thanks.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2008-07-11 18:03:24 EST)
    03-15-08 5 (NA)
    (Hide Review...)  Another great JWalk offering
    Reviewer Permalink
    I've purchased other JWalk products in the past and this is another in a line of great JWalk Excel,Access, VBA offerings. This is a very good addition for the user who is not comfy with VBA for Excel. Get this if your delving into Excel VBA for the first time.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2008-05-13 06:25:30 EST)
    02-24-08 5 (NA)
    (Hide Review...)  A Very Good Book for Beginners - You Will Be Coding in No Time!
    Reviewer Permalink
    I have tried to pick up VBA for Excel a few times, but the pieces just didn't seem to fall together for me. I am in IT, but I don't have a development background. I have solid Excel skills, but still got frustrated with VBA and would put it down. Recently, I had a very specific problem to solve for work and thought I would give it another try.

    I decided to get a book with the basics and read it completely first, then try to start coding my project. I was in a hurry so I also got the online upgrade to start reading even before my book got here. I found the book an easy read and occasionally tried a few of the examples as I went along. I got through the book easily in a few days and feel as if I had a good knowledge base to begin.

    I am happy to say within 2 weeks, I have completed the project I had first planned and then an even more complex project. I have a third planned now. I used other Excel VBA resources along the way, but have to give credit to this book for getting me started and with the basics so I could even understand where to go next. I see the time and money I invested in this book coming back to me many times over due to the hours and hours of work the macros I have been able to write will save both myself and my team members.

    I still have a lot to learn, but I am very satisified with this book. I picked this book because of the other good reviews it has on this Amazon site, so I hope you will find my review helpful to you!!
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2008-03-16 04:30:02 EST)
    01-18-08 5 1\1
    (Hide Review...)  Gets the point
    Reviewer Permalink
    I'm quite a skilled spreadsheet user, but I'm not a trainned programmer nor ever got any formal trainning in Object Oriented Programming concepts. So VBA was very hard and frustating to deal with, up to now.
    Mr Walkenbach covered my expectations with a very easy-to-read text and very usefull also. Plain sure its a first approach text for those who already are fluent with Excel, but this is declared the target reader from beginning. Very good cost-benefit ratio.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2008-02-25 06:46:25 EST)
    11-04-07 4 1\1
    (Hide Review...)  VBA Programming - Instructional
    Reviewer Permalink
    The book is very helpful. If you are surrounded by knowledgeable people who can help you with the details, this will help to expand your foundation and it gives you some excel shortcuts.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2008-01-19 06:56:41 EST)
    08-23-07 5 (NA)
    (Hide Review...)  Excel VBA for Dummies Review - Excellent!
    Reviewer Permalink
    The book is very well written and has useful examples as well as many screen shots (pictures) to help you along the way. This book is exactly what it says it is - meant for the intermediate user, but written for a dummy! A+++
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-11-15 20:40:51 EST)
    06-14-07 5 1\1
    (Hide Review...)  Great Book!
    Reviewer Permalink
    I found this book to be an excellent introduction to using VBA in Excel. The author provides clear and usable examples to illustrate what he's talking about and demonstrate good programming practices. Clearly written for beginners who have never really used VBA, this book will get you writing VBA in no time, and best of all, it's not some boring technical manual that threatens to put you to sleep.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-11-15 20:40:51 EST)
    01-10-07 5 0\12
    (Hide Review...)  Fast delivery, excellent quality
    Reviewer Permalink
    The book arrived sooner than I expected and was in perfect condition.

    Thanks again!
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-11-15 20:40:51 EST)
    01-05-07 4 2\2
    (Hide Review...)  Great for beginners
    Reviewer Permalink
    This is not the book for building complex applications within Excel but that's not what I got it for. I wanted something that would get me started on understanding how to manuver within VBA and do some basic coding and this book fits the bill perfectly. It's amazing how many books there are on this subject that don't fill the need for a beginner.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-06-30 06:58:01 EST)
    11-03-06 4 3\3
    (Hide Review...)  good enough
    Reviewer Permalink
    the book doesn't tell you everything, but it tells you what you need to know to get started and get some things done. It is great resource to take you from zero knowledge to proficiency with the most commonly used VBA tasks. However, a VBA beginner will quickly outgrow this book and need to move on to John's more advanced VBA books.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-06-30 06:58:01 EST)
    08-18-06 5 1\2
    (Hide Review...)  Excel VBA Programming
    Reviewer Permalink
    Great Book.
    Easy to Read and understand in typical John Walkenbach style.
    Just what every VBA beginner needs to get started.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-06-30 06:58:01 EST)
    07-17-06 5 0\1
    (Hide Review...)  Easy in the jungle of VBA!!
    Reviewer Permalink
    I think that this book is very useful to anybody who really knows the BASIC of VBA in Excel.

    Is the best way to begin!
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-06-30 06:58:01 EST)
    06-25-06 4 (NA)
    (Hide Review...)  A nice introduction
    Reviewer Permalink
    A good book to start with. It does a nice job of exposing the reader to the most vital features of VBA for Excel. Someone with no programming experience can read this and finish capable of writing a wide range of useful macros for their needs.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-03-19 07:48:56 EST)
    01-12-06 2 4\6
    (Hide Review...)  More of the same
    Reviewer Permalink
    This is a typical J-Walk book with lots of padding eg. the complete history of Excel starting from version 1 plus lists, lists of lists etc. etc. Why would anyone want to spend 100's of hours learning all the complexities of VBA so as to be able to display a simple Message Box or reformat a range? Where is the incentive? Provide real, practical and useful examples as an inducement for people to make this sort of investment or you are merely writing to satisfy your own ego.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-03-25 00:55:10 EST)
    11-02-05 5 1\2
    (Hide Review...)  Excellent handbook
    Reviewer Permalink
    I am not a programmer but a financial specialist. I have looked over many books on the subject. So far that was the easiest way to grasp concepts.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-03-25 00:55:10 EST)
    02-01-05 5 20\20
    (Hide Review...)  Worth the money
    Reviewer Permalink
    I bought this book because of good reviews, and was quite pleased. I have some of a background in programming (decent at PERL, a tiny bit of visual basic), but had never done it in excel.

    I wanted to learn VBA for excel to automate my data analysis for a psychology experiment I am running. I knew that the actual program I would need to write would be fairly simple (just some contingent branching that averages response times for like responses together), but I needed to know the way to reference everything for excel and excel objects. In under two days (and 150 pages of this book), I was able to write the necessary code.

    Dummies books are usually good, and this one is great for ease of reading and clarity and organization.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-03-25 00:55:10 EST)
    12-31-04 5 27\29
    (Hide Review...)  Quick, Accurate, Not Just For Dummies - A Trusted Author
    Reviewer Permalink
    I needed to quickly do a macro for a large Excel workbook. Although I have programmed off and on for thirty years, I have done little with VBA.

    One night with this book was all that it took to learn the basics; and I completed the project the following day with only brief use of one other VBA reference book. As noted by another, Wallenbach is the best-known author of books on VBA for Excel and writes with a pleasant style - friendly enough but little of the silliness of some introductory books.

    The book is written for those with good familiarity with Excel but with little or no prior programming experience. It seems also to be a good quick-start or overview for those with more experience.

    Code samples are quite short and can be downloaded from the web. There is no CD. You must have Excel 2000 or later. (The book itself was published in 2004. VBA for Excel has changed little since the Excel 2000 version.) You may want Wallenbach's 1018-page "Excel 2003 Power Programming with VBA" or other general reference for heavy-duty VBA work, although of course the on-line Microsoft documentation for VBA is very, very extensive.

    VBA is of course very similar to its big-brother, the general-purpose language, VB.NET. If you are new to programming and enjoy this book, you can move on to VB.NET easily. Hey, you're not writing macros with VBA, you're programming!!
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-03-25 00:55:10 EST)
    09-17-04 5 41\42
    (Hide Review...)  3 Good Reasons To Buy This Book
    Reviewer Permalink
    When all is said and done, John Walkenbach only has three things going for him:

    One, he really knows what he is talking about. While this is a For Dummies book, and doesn't go down really into the Power Programming (that's another of his books) level, they couldn't have gotten a more knowledgeable person to write it. You can take what he says in the book (or on the books companion web site just in case a typo made it through the editing system) as something handed down on stone tablets.

    Second, he really knows how to convey the information he has. I find his writing style to be well laid out, informative, almost a pleasure to read (true pleasure I associate with good Science Fiction, not any computer book).

    Third, he really seems to be a nice guy. While I've never met him, the home page on his web site (given at the very beginning of the book) has a has a link - Send e-mail to John Walkenbach. On a couple of occassions, I've had a reason to send him an e-mail asking a question. He's answered promptly, curteously and save me a whole bunch of time.

    If you want a quick and rapid introduction to macros or VBA programming (in Excel these are the same thing), something that will get you started, this is an excellent choice. As you become a power user, buy his Power Programming with VBA book, and indeed his other Excel books.
    (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-03-25 00:55:10 EST)
      
                      Reader Reviews 1 - 20 of 20                 
      
      
      
      
      
      

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