Programming Excel with VBA and .NET

Why program Excel? For solving complex calculations and presenting results, Excel is amazingly complete with every imaginable feature already in place. But programming Excel isn't about adding new features as much as it's about combining existing features to solve particular problems. With a few modifications, you can transform Excel into a task-specific piece of software that will quickly and precisely serve your needs. In other words, Excel is an ideal platform for probably millions of small spreadsheet-based software solutions.

The best part is, you can program Excel with no additional tools. A variant of the Visual Basic programming language, VB for Applications (VBA) is built into Excel to facilitate its use as a platform. With VBA, you can create macros and templates, manipulate user interface features such as menus and toolbars, and work with custom user forms or dialog boxes. VBA is relatively easy to use, but if you've never programmed before, Programming Excel with VBA and .NET is a great way to learn a lot very quickly. If you're an experienced Excel user or a Visual Basic programmer, you'll pick up a lot of valuable new tricks. Developers looking forward to .NET development will also find discussion of how the Excel object model works with .NET tools, including Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO).

This book teaches you how to use Excel VBA by explaining concepts clearly and concisely in plain English, and provides plenty of downloadable samples so you can learn by doing. You'll be exposed to a wide range of tasks most commonly performed with Excel, arranged into chapters according to subject, with those subjects corresponding to one or more Excel objects. With both the samples and important reference information for each object included right in the chapters, instead of tucked away in separate sections, Programming Excel with VBA and .NET covers the entire Excel object library. For those just starting out, it also lays down the basic rules common to all programming languages.

With this single-source reference and how-to guide, you'll learn to use the complete range of Excel programming tasks to solve problems, no matter what you're experience level.

Jeff Webb is one of the original Visual Basic team members. He was intensely involved with Excel VBA and conceived the first Office Developer's Kit. Jeff also wrote the first book on Excel VBA, Using Excel Visual Basic for Applications, which has remained in print for an amazing 12 years. Now, he returns to his favorite subject with a completely new, comprehensive guide: Programming Excel with VBA and VB .NET.

Steve Saunders is a Microsoft veteren who helped pioneer the design of hypertext help systems that paved the way for the design of today's Web sites. He was lead designer for the award-winning Microsoft Access and Basic help systems, and was a charter member of the Visual Basic product team. Later, Steve wrote documentation for Access programmers and became an Access programmer himself, creating applications for his group at Microsoft and for a growing list of clients outside the company.

Businesses and non-profit organizations use Steve's affordable custom applications to track their critical information, including customers and orders, lodging reservations, real estate listings, donors and donations. Since 1996, the Methow Valley Sport Trails Association (MVSTA) has used his race management application, Racetracker, to produce accurate and timely results for its popular cross-country ski and running races.

Before his years at Microsoft, Steve was a reporter and editor for newspapers in Utah, Maine, and Massachusetts, and a technical writer in the database group at Digital Equipment Corp. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Boston University, a graduate certificate in technical writing from Northeastern University, and a bachelor's degree in technical writing and creative writing from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Currently a principal of Smiling Country, Steve enjoys combining his technical, design, and editorial expertise to help businesses succeed.