This book is definitive. Though assuming no knowledge of VBA or Visual Basic, it covers every aspect of Excel programming. The emphasis is always on solving problems that professionals will encounter in their daily work. Whether it is automatically displaying different views of data through pivot tables or accessing databases through ADO, the latest Microsoft database technology, it's all here. The final chapter provides a reference on Excel objects that is equally definitive. It is important to note that this book is not an advertising brochure for Excel. If there are problems with the Excel object library (and unfortunately there are many of them), they are explained. Whenever possible, Kofler explains a work-around. Still, this book gives the reader a comprehensive look at what you can do with Excel - and despite some problems, the range of possible applications is huge.

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New in the second editon :

Covers Excel 2000 to 2003 (beta 2)

Explains how to access Web Services from Excel programs

Shows you how to process lists and XML data with Excel 2003

Microsoft's Excel is not only a powerful spreadsheet and graphics tool— it contains a programming language called Visual Basic for Application (VBA). VBA allows you to automate simple tasks, but also enables you to create full-featured applications that make Excel users more productive. In The Definitive Guide to Excel VBA, Second Edition, Kofler provides the definitive coverage of VBA for Excel by showing how it can be used to implement real-world business solutions. Designed to be useful to programmers who have never used VBA before, it nevertheless covers advanced topics needed for users already familiar with VBA.

First, Kofler introduces VBA and shows examples of the kinds of tasks that can be performed. He then introduces the Excel object model, focusing on the unique characteristics of programming and debugging code associated with a spreadsheet. The next few chapters cover menus, toolbars, forms and templates— the tools for creating customized user interfaces and full-featured applications. He then moves on to a broad range of advanced topics, including automating graphs and diagrams, accessing external databases from Excel and analyzing data using grouping and pivot-tables. He even covers ActiveX automation and the access of Web Services using the Web Service Toolkit.

Throughout the book Kofler never loses sight of the real-world problems faced by Excel programmers. He shows you how to avoid undocumented or poorly documented problems that arise when programming Excel using VBA— the kind of practical knowledge that is usually gained only through hard-won experience.