ExcelBanter - Continuing VBA development whilst workbook is in shared use.

My group has been developing Excel applications for many years for company
wide and client use. We have development folders and testing folders and
installation folders for actual use. Typically we save a long history of
development versions, like Model1.xls, model2.xls,...model1002.xls. For
testing we copy out each development version under the app's standard name,
say Model.xls, to the testing folders. When testing for a given version is
done we create an installer for users to install locally or on shared
drives.

To allow us to seamlessly share and replace versions we have a couple
conventions. One is that each app is fired off with an add-in (Start.xla
typically). Add-ins are automatically opened read-only so there is no
problem with multiple users or with copying in a new version to the testing
folder whenever we want to. The add-in puts up a "splash screen" and opens
the main file(s) read-only. Again, since they are read-only multiple users
can access them at the same time and we can overwrite them with new versions
even as users are using then.

Our apps are completely menu driver. A key feature is that users save data
by our menus/macros. These macros copy input out to data files along with
the version number of the app that created it. Thus users never actually
save our app files, just their extracted data.

If we make a structural change to our app, when users open a previously
saved data file, the macros check the version of the data file and make any
changes needed to load the old data into the new locations the corresponding
cells may now be.

I don't know how fancy you want to get but at a minimum I think you want
macros to fire when your users open your app workbooks that change the
file's status to read-only for the reasons previously stated.

--
Jim Rech
Excel MVP
"billy600" wrote in message
...
|
| Hi,
|
| I've developed an app using Excel2002 with some VBA code. Phase one is
| now complete and out with a couple of users for testing.
|
| I'd like to continue with phase 2 development whilst people are using
| phase one.
| My previous coding experiance is with development environments where an
| executable can be compiled and release allowing users to use and me to
| continue with development. I guess this is not applicable with Excel
| based work.
|
| From what I can figure out my options are -
|
| 1. let users work on a restricted timetable and develop during periods
| when they are not using.
| 2. take a copy of the workbook, rename it and use that for development
| work and copy code changes back into the 'live' workbook. (I can;t see
| this working very well).
|
| Can anyone suggest any alternative strategies?
|
| Many thanks,
| Will.
|
|
| --
| billy600
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------
| billy600's Profile:
http://www.excelforum.com/member.php...o&userid=11372
| View this thread: http://www.excelforum.com/showthread...hreadid=275195
|