Looking to learn VBA
Phil.O
I have recently started taking on a few extra pieces of work and have found
that a lot of the work has been written using VBA. This is something that i
have a basic understanding of but am unsure of how to improve my knowledge.
The main use is going to be though Excel, 03 for the moment but I think it is
soon to be upgraded to 07 if that makes a difference.
I need to be able to both understand VBA scripts and also be able to write
them.
Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction for how to teach
myself this?
thanks for any help
Phil
Ralph
[You have posted to the wrong newsgroup. But more on that later ...]
All VBAs shares a core language library, parser, and editor. Each product
that includes VBA also provides object libraries specific and unique for its
Host. While an understanding of the core language is important, in practical
use it will be those object libraries that you need to get a handle on.
Essentially the object libraries are nothing more than an exposure of the
underlying "engine" of the application. So your first step is to get a good
book on Excel 2003. ie, learn Excel. Second, get a good book on Excel
development. Along the way pick up a decent reference book for VBA.
Which books? Well for the latter you can't do better that "VB & VBA In A
Nutshell" O'Reilly. (You can pickup used copies for less than the cost of
shipping.)
For the others you need to cruise your local bookshop and online. Grab
whatever seems to most useful - your "first" books will depend on your
current level of experience, and frankly don't matter that much because you
will soon add to your library as you thirst for knowledge increases. <g>
Also you need to more or less plunge in and get a feel - ie, learn the
terminology, learn what specific areas you need to know about etc. Then
you'll be a better judge of what books are best for you.
There are differences between 2003 and 2007 (and 2010 will soon be here).
But don't panic - about 90% is transferable - once you get the basics down
learning anything new gets easier and easier.
As for newsgroups - you need to seek out the Excel groups ...
microsoft.public.excel.~, and check out the Office development groups ...
microsoft.public.office.developer.vba
Also consider the following. MS is in the midst of a sea change. They have
let it be known they intend to drop VBA support for new Office applications
and are moving to VSTO type solutions based on the .Net Framework. But
again - don't panic - the object libraries, and the need to know Excel is
the important part.
hth
-ralph