User-defined Functions using Visual Basic Applications in Excel
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Microsoft Excel has a lot of built-in functions aimed at increasing the productivity of any office worker. “Built-in functions” means that these functions are shipped along with MS Excel installations, so by the time you have successfully installed the spreadsheet, these functions are readily available for use. However, not all functions can satisfy or be customized to office needs, so an average Excel user cannot make a function to suit a customized application. That is what this tutorial is all about.
This series of tutorials aims to increase the knowledge of ordinary and average Excel users so that they can create their own Excel function. This is commonly called a “user-defined function.”
With user-defined functions, an Excel application developer is able to develop limitless applications that can save a lot of office time when compared to using Excel's built-in functions.
Okay, let’s get started.
Basic Requirements
Microsoft Excel relies on the Visual Basic programming language. So in order to make your own Excel function, you need some knowledge of that programming language.
The very good thing is that Visual Basic is not all that difficult, and there are a lot of resources out there that can help you with the learning process. Below is a link to some good resources to start with when you are learning Visual Basic.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vbasic/ms789086.aspx
A detailed tutorial on Microsoft Visual Basic is beyond the scope of this article; I recommend that you refer to the standard Microsoft documentation for further information. Also in this article, very simple Visual basic commands will be discussed in order to enhance the tutorial.
In order to maximize what you learn from this tutorial series, it is recommended that you have at least Microsoft Excel 2002 installed on your computer. If you have the latest version, Microsoft Excel version 2007, it is also fine and the concepts will still apply.
Next: Understanding Excel Function Programming Steps >>
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