Can anyone recommend a good book?
 

Hi

I am just starting my first Excel database project and i
believe i will need to learn VBA in order to export
filtered Excel data into a Word document.

Can anyone recommend a good VBA book (i am using MS Office
2000), which is suitable for beginners as well as advanced
users?

Many thanks

Nicola

Can anyone recommend a good book?
 

Look at John Walkenbach's site at his power programming books.

http://www.j-walk.com/ss/excel

there is a link there to his books.

(also links to developer tip code samples and to a links page with links to
other sites).

--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy

Nicola Brennan wrote in message
...
Hi

I am just starting my first Excel database project and i
believe i will need to learn VBA in order to export
filtered Excel data into a Word document.

Can anyone recommend a good VBA book (i am using MS Office
2000), which is suitable for beginners as well as advanced
users?

Many thanks

Nicola

Can anyone recommend a good book?
 

Nicola,

In addition to John's book referenced by Tom, another great book is Excel
2002 VBA: Programmers Reference by Rob Bovey (Author), et al; Paperback

Here is a link on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...709977-8876649

Good luck!

Regards,
Kevin


"Nicola Brennan" wrote in message
...
Hi

I am just starting my first Excel database project and i
believe i will need to learn VBA in order to export
filtered Excel data into a Word document.

Can anyone recommend a good VBA book (i am using MS Office
2000), which is suitable for beginners as well as advanced
users?

Many thanks

Nicola

Can anyone recommend a good book?
 

(actually John Green is the principal author).
John Green's book is a great book, but John himself says it isn't a
beginners book/tutorial.

If the OP is an experience programmer, just wanting to learn VBA in Excel,
then perhaps it is a good choice.

--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy


Kevin Stecyk wrote in message
...
Nicola,

In addition to John's book referenced by Tom, another great book is Excel
2002 VBA: Programmers Reference by Rob Bovey (Author), et al; Paperback

Here is a link on Amazon:


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...04/sr=2-1/ref=
sr_2_1/103-3709977-8876649

Good luck!

Regards,
Kevin


"Nicola Brennan" wrote in message
...
Hi

I am just starting my first Excel database project and i
believe i will need to learn VBA in order to export
filtered Excel data into a Word document.

Can anyone recommend a good VBA book (i am using MS Office
2000), which is suitable for beginners as well as advanced
users?

Many thanks

Nicola

Can anyone recommend a good book?
 

Agreed - and the OP shouldn't be put off by the term Power Programming in John's
title as it really does start from scratch and slowly takes you right through to
Advanced level. Works nicely whatever level you are at initially.

--
Regards
Ken....................... Microsoft MVP - Excel
Sys Spec - Win XP Pro / XL2K & XLXP

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attitude - A little thing that makes a BIG difference
----------------------------------------------------------------------------



"Tom Ogilvy" wrote in message
...
(actually John Green is the principal author).
John Green's book is a great book, but John himself says it isn't a
beginners book/tutorial.

If the OP is an experience programmer, just wanting to learn VBA in Excel,
then perhaps it is a good choice.

--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy


Kevin Stecyk wrote in message
...
Nicola,

In addition to John's book referenced by Tom, another great book is Excel
2002 VBA: Programmers Reference by Rob Bovey (Author), et al; Paperback

Here is a link on Amazon:


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...04/sr=2-1/ref=
sr_2_1/103-3709977-8876649

Good luck!

Regards,
Kevin


"Nicola Brennan" wrote in message
...
Hi

I am just starting my first Excel database project and i
believe i will need to learn VBA in order to export
filtered Excel data into a Word document.

Can anyone recommend a good VBA book (i am using MS Office
2000), which is suitable for beginners as well as advanced
users?

Many thanks

Nicola






---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.534 / Virus Database: 329 - Release Date: 31/10/2003

Can anyone recommend a good book?
 

Many thanks for all the advice. I have spent most of the day surfing these
newsgroups and other websites for tips and have managed to do what i needed
in Excel, (by copying some VBA from www.contextures.com).

I shall still pick up your recommended reading matter though.

Thanks again

Nicola




"Nicola Brennan" wrote in message
...
Hi

I am just starting my first Excel database project and i
believe i will need to learn VBA in order to export
filtered Excel data into a Word document.

Can anyone recommend a good VBA book (i am using MS Office
2000), which is suitable for beginners as well as advanced
users?

Many thanks

Nicola

Can anyone recommend a good book?
 

Hi Tom,

I always finding having more than one reference to be helpful.

I am not a programmer by profession.

I found some topics that were better and more readily understood in Green's
book than in Walkenbach's book. Also, a writer's style and method of
presentation often to different people. So I still think both books deserve
to be recommended, even if the readers are "only" beginnners. Beginners can
skip the more advanced topics, such as COMs, in Green's book.

Regards,
Kevin




"Tom Ogilvy" wrote in message
...
(actually John Green is the principal author).
John Green's book is a great book, but John himself says it isn't a
beginners book/tutorial.

If the OP is an experience programmer, just wanting to learn VBA in Excel,
then perhaps it is a good choice.

--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy


Kevin Stecyk wrote in message
...
Nicola,

In addition to John's book referenced by Tom, another great book is
Excel
2002 VBA: Programmers Reference by Rob Bovey (Author), et al; Paperback

Here is a link on Amazon:



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...04/sr=2-1/ref=
sr_2_1/103-3709977-8876649

Good luck!

Regards,
Kevin


"Nicola Brennan" wrote in message
...
Hi

I am just starting my first Excel database project and i
believe i will need to learn VBA in order to export
filtered Excel data into a Word document.

Can anyone recommend a good VBA book (i am using MS Office
2000), which is suitable for beginners as well as advanced
users?

Many thanks

Nicola

Can anyone recommend a good book?
 

Tom,

Copying from the back of Excel 2002 VBA

<<Who is this book for?

This book not only caters for beginner and intermediate-level programmers
with its introductory coverage of VBA and Excel, but also provides advanced
information for experienced Excel developers in the later chapters and the
reference.

Anyway, I found it extremely helpful, and thought others might as well.

Regards,
Kevin





"Tom Ogilvy" wrote in message
...
(actually John Green is the principal author).
John Green's book is a great book, but John himself says it isn't a
beginners book/tutorial.

If the OP is an experience programmer, just wanting to learn VBA in Excel,
then perhaps it is a good choice.

--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy


Kevin Stecyk wrote in message
...
Nicola,

In addition to John's book referenced by Tom, another great book is
Excel
2002 VBA: Programmers Reference by Rob Bovey (Author), et al; Paperback

Here is a link on Amazon:



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...04/sr=2-1/ref=
sr_2_1/103-3709977-8876649

Good luck!

Regards,
Kevin


"Nicola Brennan" wrote in message
...
Hi

I am just starting my first Excel database project and i
believe i will need to learn VBA in order to export
filtered Excel data into a Word document.

Can anyone recommend a good VBA book (i am using MS Office
2000), which is suitable for beginners as well as advanced
users?

Many thanks

Nicola

Can anyone recommend a good book?
 

I don't doubt that Wrox would not cut themselves out of any part of the
market. I am telling you what the author has stated to me. My personal
opinion, if I had not programmed before, and this was to be my only source,
I would not pick this book. As a reference, it is fine. someone that has
already picked up the basics and has a beginner's book already, it is
excellent. I believe you will find my name in the front of the book as
well, so I am not disparaging it and have multiple copies of the previous
edition. I think it is one of the best. Nonetheless, I don't see it as a
beginners book.

In the previous edition it says

Who is this book for?
This book is for anyone who wants to take full advantage of VBA programming
language that comes with Excel 2000. If you're new to VBA programming, this
book will give you enough information to start making Excel work for you.
This book is also intended for power users who want to take advantage of the
advance features of excel VBA and who need a fast reference to the full
Excel object model.

The second edition added nothing of substance in the first area, for those
new to VBA.

So being new to vba as opposed to being new to programming is generally not
thought of as being a beginner and I qualified my previous advice to allow
for a programmer who was new to VBA but not programming.

If you want to recommend it for beginner's, go ahead. I will feel as free
to caution that it isn't the best choice although it may be a sufficient
choice. I highly recommend it as a second book.


--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy

"Kevin Stecyk" wrote in message
...
Tom,

Copying from the back of Excel 2002 VBA

<<Who is this book for?

This book not only caters for beginner and intermediate-level programmers
with its introductory coverage of VBA and Excel, but also provides
advanced
information for experienced Excel developers in the later chapters and the
reference.

Anyway, I found it extremely helpful, and thought others might as well.

Regards,
Kevin





"Tom Ogilvy" wrote in message
...
(actually John Green is the principal author).
John Green's book is a great book, but John himself says it isn't a
beginners book/tutorial.

If the OP is an experience programmer, just wanting to learn VBA in
Excel,
then perhaps it is a good choice.

--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy


Kevin Stecyk wrote in message
...
Nicola,

In addition to John's book referenced by Tom, another great book is
Excel
2002 VBA: Programmers Reference by Rob Bovey (Author), et al;
Paperback

Here is a link on Amazon:




http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...04/sr=2-1/ref=
sr_2_1/103-3709977-8876649

Good luck!

Regards,
Kevin


"Nicola Brennan" wrote in
message
...
Hi

I am just starting my first Excel database project and i
believe i will need to learn VBA in order to export
filtered Excel data into a Word document.

Can anyone recommend a good VBA book (i am using MS Office
2000), which is suitable for beginners as well as advanced
users?

Many thanks

Nicola

Can anyone recommend a good book?
 

Hi Tom,

Before I respond to your note, I want to ensure that our discussion is on
the proper footing. I respect your comments and your obvious Excel talents.
Clearly, your Excel skills are much better than mine, and I very much
appreciate the help you have given me and others. The reason for stating
these comments is that I do not want our discussion here to spiral
downwards. Instead, I would prefer to respond to your comments in a
professional and personal manner. And truth be told, I don't think we
differ that much.

Also, another comment before I respond directly. I am not a VBA programmer.
I was once very skilled in XLM and did some VBA programming using the
Tompkins' methodology back in 1995-1996 timeframe. I was okay at VBA, for I
could do what I needed to get done. But I was no wizard at VBA, and am
still not a wizard. In March to June of this past year, I had need to do
more VBA programming. I needed to relearn what I had forgotten as well as
strengthen my skills. Stephen Bullen, one of the authors of the Wrox text,
suggested the Wrox book as a great book to start. I read it along with
Walkenbach's book--read John W's book first. Both are excellent. So now
you know that I too am much like many of the so called newbies wanting to
learn about VBA.

Okay, that being said, allow me to respond more directly.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I always find having more than one source
valuable. Granted John W.'s book is very good. But if you are a new
programmer, sometimes reading a second text helps to reinforce a point or
help to explain a point you never understood the first time. If you are
very skilled in VBA, then reading any VBA book is easy and it all makes
sense the very first time. But for those of us learning something new, it
is helpful to have more than source.

I did read John W's book first. But I must admit I found some topics more
clearly explained in Wrox book. Also the Wrox book presents the topics in
different order, which again is helpful. Some people found the John W's
presentation confusing because he tended to mix his topics. I was okay with
that. But a lot of people are not. I found the Wrox book to be more linear
in its presentation. Some people might like that. Me, I just like lots of
examples.

Here, let's look at some of the Amazon reviews for John W.'s book:

A reader from El Paso, TX United States
"I found this book very useful. However, I found it frustrating that some
things didn't work exactly as explained or required perhaps some significant
extra code to really work well. I am by far and away not an expert, but also
not a novice; I've been programming in BASIC, VB, FORTRAN, UNIX SHELL, etc.
for 30 years, but only as a tool for my job. I would recommend this book,
but not for beginners who probably wouldn't deduce their way to solve
things. "

Charles L. Thierheimer Jr from Corvallis, OR United States
"I have found this book very useful. It is not for raw beginners, you should
have at least dabbled in Visual Basic. The author gently encourages the
reader to develop habits of documentation, formatting code with indents
etc."

Zitouni from Paris, France
"This book has no real structure, making its use and finding information a
true headache. The summary is a clear proof: part 1) some essential
background, 2)excel application development, 3) VBA, 4) userforms, 5)
advanced techniques, 6) developing applications, 7) others. Since part 2 is
devoted to devlopping, why this subject should again comes in part 6?
Besides, isn't the whole book dedicated to developing? Finding what you
want, even in the detailed contents, is harsh and shows that there's no
plan, but rather disseaminated pieces of information, just like the VBA
help."

"Instead of clearly dividing by general topic (variables, objects,
methods...), the author has a special order where everything seems mixed and
spread in the book. Here something about methods, then some chapters later,
another thing about methods etc."


The point in showing these reviews is NOT to disparage John W's book. It's
a great book--no question. But not everyone is able to pick up John W's
book and run with it immediately. Would the Wrox text be any better for
these individuals? I do not know. But I do know that having both books was
a tremendous benefit to me. And again, I am not an experienced programmer
of any sort. So I empathize with those wanting to learn VBA. While I agree
with you that John W's book is a good strong first choice, I also recommend
a second text. From your prior post, it appears that we agree that the Wrox
text is a good book. I think both books are highly recommended.

Not meaning to put words in your mouth, I think you would say, "Read John
W's book first, and then if interested read Wrox." I am indifferent as to
which is read first or second.

So wrapping up this rather long winded response, I think we are close in our
opinions. I don't think we differ signficantly. While I agree John W's
wrote an excellent text, I think newbies might want another book to guide
them along. I know I found having more than one reference extremely
helpful.

And again I want to stress, I do not want our discussion to devolve into
animus. I have tremendous respect for your talents and opinions and would
like to be able to ask your assistance when required.

I hope that clarifies my position. If I respond (not sure it is worth this
much bother), I would continue to recommend both books. I might mention
that a lot of people prefer to start with John W's book, but I think both
books are excellent and deserve to be read. Both books are worth the price
paid and the reader will learn from each book.

Best regards,
Kevin


"Tom Ogilvy" wrote in message
...
I don't doubt that Wrox would not cut themselves out of any part of the
market. I am telling you what the author has stated to me. My personal
opinion, if I had not programmed before, and this was to be my only
source,
I would not pick this book. As a reference, it is fine. someone that has
already picked up the basics and has a beginner's book already, it is
excellent. I believe you will find my name in the front of the book as
well, so I am not disparaging it and have multiple copies of the previous
edition. I think it is one of the best. Nonetheless, I don't see it as
a
beginners book.

In the previous edition it says

Who is this book for?
This book is for anyone who wants to take full advantage of VBA
programming
language that comes with Excel 2000. If you're new to VBA programming,
this
book will give you enough information to start making Excel work for you.
This book is also intended for power users who want to take advantage of
the
advance features of excel VBA and who need a fast reference to the full
Excel object model.

The second edition added nothing of substance in the first area, for those
new to VBA.

So being new to vba as opposed to being new to programming is generally
not
thought of as being a beginner and I qualified my previous advice to
allow
for a programmer who was new to VBA but not programming.

If you want to recommend it for beginner's, go ahead. I will feel as free
to caution that it isn't the best choice although it may be a sufficient
choice. I highly recommend it as a second book.


--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy

"Kevin Stecyk" wrote in message
...
Tom,

Copying from the back of Excel 2002 VBA

<<Who is this book for?

This book not only caters for beginner and intermediate-level
programmers
with its introductory coverage of VBA and Excel, but also provides
advanced
information for experienced Excel developers in the later chapters and
the
reference.

Anyway, I found it extremely helpful, and thought others might as well.

Regards,
Kevin





"Tom Ogilvy" wrote in message
...
(actually John Green is the principal author).
John Green's book is a great book, but John himself says it isn't a
beginners book/tutorial.

If the OP is an experience programmer, just wanting to learn VBA in
Excel,
then perhaps it is a good choice.

--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy


Kevin Stecyk wrote in message
...
Nicola,

In addition to John's book referenced by Tom, another great book is
Excel
2002 VBA: Programmers Reference by Rob Bovey (Author), et al;
Paperback

Here is a link on Amazon:





http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...04/sr=2-1/ref=
sr_2_1/103-3709977-8876649

Good luck!

Regards,
Kevin


"Nicola Brennan" wrote in
message
...
Hi

I am just starting my first Excel database project and i
believe i will need to learn VBA in order to export
filtered Excel data into a Word document.

Can anyone recommend a good VBA book (i am using MS Office
2000), which is suitable for beginners as well as advanced
users?

Many thanks

Nicola