Am being 'pressured' to consider upgrading Company system
from Office 2000 Professional to Office 2003 (SBE) Standard
Edition, which will run under Small Business Server 2003 (SE).

Aside from the fact that I'll lose 'Access', where can I get
definitive information on the additional Excel VBA features,
please?

Having code that caters for Excel 2000 and 97 users, I now
need to consider a situation where all users will have 2003,
and therefore will some code warrant a rewrite to benefit
from a new feature(s).

Regards.


---
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There have been no changes to the VBA language from Excel 2000 to 2003 (do
not confuse the VB language with the objects, methods and properties exposed
by the Excel object model, or any object model). Of course the Excel object
model has been enhanced for the new features introduced in Excel 2002 and
2003. But those new features and the object model enhancements should cause
few if any compatibility issues with your existing Excel spreadsheets.

While the MS site probably has a full description of the product
enhancements in 2002 and 2003 I have pasted in the 2002 enhancements from
the Help file. 2003 changes were minimal to be honest. Basically related
to XML and then only in the "Professional" version so you wouldn't see them
in the Standard version. Check the MS site on this.

--
Jim Rech
Excel MVP

Key new features in Microsoft Excel 2002
Importing data

Querying data from Web pages Now it's even easier to get refreshable data
from the Web into Excel for viewing and analysis. Use the new browser-like
interface to visually select tables on Web pages for import into Excel, or
copy data from a Web page and create a refreshable query. Web queries
included with Excel provide fast, accurate information such as stock quotes
for your spreadsheets. You can also create Web queries to Extensible Markup
Language (XML) files.

Importing data Getting data where you need it and when you need it is as
easy as choosing an option and finding your data source in the Select Data
Source dialog box. If you want to import data from a remote data source, use
the Data Connection Wizard to locate and import data from sources as varied
as Microsoft SQL Server, Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), and Online
Analytical Processing (OLAP) data sources. Microsoft Office data connection
(.odc) files are shareable.

Formulas and functions

ScreenTips for function arguments Type a function in a cell and a
convenient screen tip appears showing all of the arguments for the function,
along with a link to the Help topic for the function.

Recommended functions in the Function Wizard Type a natural language
query, such as "How do I determine the monthly payment for a car loan", and
the Function Wizard returns a list of recommended functions you can use to
accomplish your task.

Cut-and-paste function reference examples If you've wondered how to
translate Help examples into meaningful worksheet data, you'll find the
cut-and-paste function examples in Excel Help useful and time saving.

Task-based formula help Real-life examples for real-life numeric problems
make powerful additions to the Help you've come to count on.

Watch window Keep track of cells and their formulas on the Watch Window
toolbar, even when the cells are out of view. This moveable toolbar tracks
cell properties including workbook, worksheet, name, cell, value, and
formula.

Expanded AutoSum functionality The practical functionality of AutoSum has
expanded to include a drop-down list of the most common functions. For
example, you can click Average from the list to calculate the average of a
selected range, or connect to the Function Wizard for more options.

Formula evaluator You can see the various parts of a nested formula
evaluated in the order the formula is calculated by using a simple dialog
box on the Formula Auditing toolbar.

Trace precedent and dependent cells with Formula Auditing Use the Formula
Auditing toolbar to graphically display, or trace, the relationships between
cells and formulas with blue arrows. You can trace the precedent cells or
the dependent cells.

Formula error checking Like a grammar checker, Excel uses certain rules to
check for problems in formulas. These rules can help find common mistakes.
You can turn these rules on or off individually.

Worksheet and workbook formatting

Color-coded worksheet tabs Organize your work by adding color to your
worksheet tabs.

Control automatic changes with smart tags Buttons that appear
automatically on your worksheet can help you with tasks such as automatic
correction options, paste options, automatic fill options, insert options,
and formula error checking. With a click of a button you can choose from
options related to your task without leaving the worksheet or the cells
you're working on.

Unmerge on the toolbar No more searching for a way to unmerge cells. Now
unmerge is conveniently located on the Format toolbar.

Retain column widths If you have worksheets with specified column widths,
now you can paste information from another worksheet without losing that
formatting by clicking the Paste Options button, and then clicking Keep
Source Column Widths.

Border drawing A new border drawing tool allows you to outline complex
borders with little effort.

More new features in Excel
Everyday tasks

Find and replace Finding and replacing data in Excel includes great new
options to match formats and search an entire workbook or worksheets.

Links management Changes to the Edit Links dialog box allow you to check
the status of the links in your worksheet and make changes. A new workbook
option allows you to control whether to update links in your workbook
automatically.

Hyperlink navigation Selecting a cell with a hyperlink is improved. Click
the hyperlink once to follow it. Click and hold to select the cell.

Sending a range Sending out mid-month reports and summaries just got
easier. Select a range on your worksheet, click E-mail on the Standard
toolbar, type an introduction to the report, and then send it without
spending extra time on the task.

Insert and delete columns while filtering You can insert and delete
columns with AutoFilter turned on in Excel. You can even undo the action and
preserve any applied filtering.

Speech playback An option to have a computer voice play back data after
every cell entry or after a range of cells has been entered makes verifying
data entry convenient and practical. You can even choose the voice the
computer uses to read back your data. This feature is available in Chinese,
Japanese, and English (U.S.) only.

Printing You've asked for the ability to insert graphics and file names in
headers and footers, and with Excel you can. You'll also find a handy A4
paper resizing option on the International tab under Tools menu, Options
command, which will scale the worksheet you formatted for A4 paper if you
have letter-size paper in your printer.

Smart tags By turning on smart tags, you can type a U.S. financial symbol
and use Smart Tag Actions to insert a stock quote in your worksheet, find
out more about the company you're doing business with, and more. You can
also type the name of someone you've recently sent an e-mail message to into
a cell, and then use smart tag options to schedule a meeting or add the name
to your contacts list, all without leaving your worksheet.

Item properties in PivotTables Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a
powerful tool for aggregating numeric information, and now you can annotate
your data with item properties to make your data warehouse even more
valuable.

AutoRepublish Anyone who frequently publishes Excel data to the Web will
appreciate additional Web publishing features that allow you to
automatically republish items to Web pages whenever you save a workbook with
previously published items.

Open and save XML With Excel, you can open and save Extensible Markup
Language (XML) files, save entire workbooks in the XML Spreadsheet format,
and create queries to XML source data.

Digital Dashboard and Web Parts Use Excel to create Web Parts to include
on your company's new Digital Dashboard. For example, you might create an
updateable sales chart to highlight your division's contributions to the
company's bottom line.

Worksheet protection Excel adds power and flexibility to protect your data
from changes to worksheets and cells. You can protect cell values and
formulas, and allow the cell to be formatted. You can also ensure that only
specific users are allowed to change cells.

Language-specific features

If you are not using the specific language version of Microsoft Office for
which one of these features is designed, then the feature is only available
if you have installed the Microsoft Office XP Multilingual User Interface
Pack or Microsoft Office XP Proofing Tools for that language. In addition,
you must enable support for the language through Microsoft Office XP
Language Settings.

Multilingual editing With Excel you can edit spreadsheets in any language,
including right-to-left language editing in Arabic and Hebrew. Excel
automatically links fonts so you don't have to figure out the language of a
particular font.

IME support If you have an Input Method Editor (IME) installed, you can
edit Asian language spreadsheets in any language version of Excel.

Worldwide number formats You can format numbers for a specific location in
all language versions of Excel.

Many thanks for the explanation, and for your time and trouble.

Regards

"Stuart" wrote in message
...
Am being 'pressured' to consider upgrading Company system
from Office 2000 Professional to Office 2003 (SBE) Standard
Edition, which will run under Small Business Server 2003 (SE).

Aside from the fact that I'll lose 'Access', where can I get
definitive information on the additional Excel VBA features,
please?

Having code that caters for Excel 2000 and 97 users, I now
need to consider a situation where all users will have 2003,
and therefore will some code warrant a rewrite to benefit
from a new feature(s).

Regards.


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.692 / Virus Database: 453 - Release Date: 28/05/2004




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