1. VBA: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION SEAMUS STEGENGA MEEN 381-506 FEBRUARY 11, 2015

2. OVERVIEW  Introduction…………… 1 slide  History………………… 2 slides  Hypothetical example… 10 slides  Real-world example…… 2 slides  Pros and cons ………… 1 slide  Conclusion …………… 1 slide  Questions……………… 1 slide

3. INTRODUCTION  VBA is a proprietary object-oriented programming language developed by Microsoft  It is built in to MS office installations  (Anyone with Excel already has it installed on their computer)  It allows users to automate tasks, manipulate large data sets, and create custom interfaces

4. HISTORY  Early computing had many programming languages  Problem: steep learning curve  In 1975, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to create an interpreter for BASIC  Product was instant success, becoming the central product of his company, Microsoft  Independently, VisiCal, the first spreadsheet program, was created in 1978  It was also an instant success, becoming the first “killer app” and substantially boosting PC sales  Lotus 1-2-3 soon followed, becoming the dominate entry in the spreadsheet market  Microsoft tried to compete with Microplan (predecessor to Excel), but generally failed to gain market share

5. HISTORY  15 years later, Microsoft was still struggling to gain market share  Then, in 1993, Microsoft combined its BASIC interpreter with Excel  The result was VBA, an object-oriented language centered around the MS office suite  VBA-based Excel was successful beyond even Microsoft’s expectations,  Lotus 1-2-3 lost dominate market position in 1995 and was bought by IBM later that year  Since then, Excel has become a de-facto standard in business settings (especially engineering)

6. EXAMPLE: PROBLEM STATEMENT  Suppose that on a particular project, your boss tells you to check which AutoCAD drawings have been updated and need to be re-sent to the client. They give you a list of drawings, the current revision of each drawing, and a list of filenames that have already been sent.  Which drawings need to be resent? DRAWINGREVFILENAME AG10-4637-GAE1.2AG10-4637-GAE rev 1.2.DWG AG11-5620-GAE1AG11-5620-GAErev1.0.dwg AG12-4004-GAE1.2AG12-4004-GAErev1.2.dwg AG14-9294-GAE1.1AG14-9294-GAE_1.1.DWG AG15-1937-GAE1.2AG15-1937-GAErev1.1.dwg AG15-3441-GAE1.2AG15-3441-GAE Rev1.2.dwg AG16-7964-GAE1AG16-7964-GAE Rev1 AG17-7538-GAE1.1AG17-7538-GAE Rev1.1.dwg AG20-1013-GAE1AG20-1013-GAE_1.0.DWG AG22-6293-GAE1AG22-6293-GAE_1.0.DWG AG22-6939-GAE1.1AG22-6939-GAE Rev1.1.dwg AG23-9721-GAE2AG23-9721-GAE Rev1.2 AG26-1252-GAE1AG26-1252-GAE_1.DWG AG26-3982-GAE2AG26-3982-GAE rev 2.dwg AG26-7808-GAE1AG26-7808-GAE rev1.0.dwg AG28-4049-GAE1AG28-4049-GAE_1 AG30-4827-GAE1AG30-4827-GAErev1.0.DWG AG31-9504-GAE1AG31-9504-GAErev1.0.DWG AG34-6161-GAE1.2AG34-6161-GAE rev 1.2 AG37-2632-GAE1AG37-2632-GAE rev 1.0.DWG AG37-4679-GAE1AG37-4679-GAErev1 AG37-4922-GAE1.1AG37-4922-GAE Rev1.1.dwg AG39-4773-GAE1AG39-4773-GAE rev1 AG42-1418-GAE1.2AG42-1418-GAE Rev1.2.dwg AG44-6605-GAE2AG44-6605-GAErev2.dwg

7. EXAMPLE: PROBLEM STATEMENT  Suppose that on a particular project, your boss tells you to check which AutoCAD drawings have been updated and need to be re-sent to the client. They give you a list of drawings, the current revision of each drawing, and a list of filenames that have already been sent.  Which drawings need to be resent? DRAWINGREVFILENAME AG10-4637-GAE1.2AG10-4637-GAE rev 1.2.DWG AG11-5620-GAE1AG11-5620-GAErev1.0.dwg AG12-4004-GAE1.2AG12-4004-GAErev1.2.dwg AG14-9294-GAE1.1AG14-9294-GAE_1.1.DWG AG15-1937-GAE1.2AG15-1937-GAErev1.1.dwg AG15-3441-GAE1.2AG15-3441-GAE Rev1.2.dwg AG16-7964-GAE1AG16-7964-GAE Rev1 AG17-7538-GAE1.1AG17-7538-GAE Rev1.1.dwg AG20-1013-GAE1AG20-1013-GAE_1.0.DWG AG22-6293-GAE1AG22-6293-GAE_1.0.DWG AG22-6939-GAE1.1AG22-6939-GAE Rev1.1.dwg AG23-9721-GAE2AG23-9721-GAE Rev1.2 AG26-1252-GAE1AG26-1252-GAE_1.DWG AG26-3982-GAE2AG26-3982-GAE rev 2.dwg AG26-7808-GAE1AG26-7808-GAE rev1.0.dwg AG28-4049-GAE1AG28-4049-GAE_1 AG30-4827-GAE1AG30-4827-GAErev1.0.DWG AG31-9504-GAE1AG31-9504-GAErev1.0.DWG AG34-6161-GAE1.2AG34-6161-GAE rev 1.2 AG37-2632-GAE1AG37-2632-GAE rev 1.0.DWG AG37-4679-GAE1AG37-4679-GAErev1 AG37-4922-GAE1.1AG37-4922-GAE Rev1.1.dwg AG39-4773-GAE1AG39-4773-GAE rev1 AG42-1418-GAE1.2AG42-1418-GAE Rev1.2.dwg AG44-6605-GAE2AG44-6605-GAErev2.dwg

8. EXAMPLE: SOLUTION  Pressing Alt+F11 pulls up the VBA editor

9. EXAMPLE: SOLUTION  Double clicking “ThisWorkbook” brings up a white text editor

10. EXAMPLE: SOLUTION  Typing “Sub example_name” and pressing enter creates a new sub-routine  Code is automatically color-coded as you type

11. EXAMPLE: SOLUTION  Write your macro  cells(2,3).value => value of cell C2  UCase(“string”) => “STRING”  Right(“string”,4) => “ring”  CDec(“1.49”) => 1.49  Replace(“i pie”,”i”,”U”) => “U pUe”  Typing the function name and open parenthesis will make a tooltip pop up, telling you what inputs the function is expecting. This is very useful!  Most functions can be found using online search

12. EXAMPLE: SOLUTION  Clicking the green triangle on the top window executes the macro (can also start by pressing F5)  Afterwards, the Excel pane looks like the following DRAWINGREVFILENAMES AG10-4637-GAE1.2AG10-4637-GAE rev 1.2.DWG AG11-5620-GAE1AG11-5620-GAErev1.0.dwg AG12-4004-GAE1.2AG12-4004-GAErev1.2.dwg AG14-9294-GAE1.1AG14-9294-GAE_1.1.DWG AG15-1937-GAE1.2different!AG15-1937-GAErev1.1.dwg AG15-3441-GAE1.2AG15-3441-GAE Rev1.2.dwg AG16-7964-GAE1AG16-7964-GAE Rev1 AG17-7538-GAE1.1AG17-7538-GAE Rev1.1.dwg AG20-1013-GAE1AG20-1013-GAE_1.0.DWG AG22-6293-GAE1AG22-6293-GAE_1.0.DWG AG22-6939-GAE1.1AG22-6939-GAE Rev1.1.dwg AG23-9721-GAE2different!AG23-9721-GAE Rev1.2 AG26-1252-GAE1AG26-1252-GAE_1.DWG AG26-3982-GAE2AG26-3982-GAE rev 2.dwg AG26-7808-GAE1AG26-7808-GAE rev1.0.dwg AG28-4049-GAE1AG28-4049-GAE_1 AG30-4827-GAE1AG30-4827-GAErev1.0.DWG AG31-9504-GAE1AG31-9504-GAErev1.0.DWG AG34-6161-GAE1.2AG34-6161-GAE rev 1.2 AG37-2632-GAE1AG37-2632-GAE rev 1.0.DWG AG37-4679-GAE1AG37-4679-GAErev1 AG37-4922-GAE1.1AG37-4922-GAE Rev1.1.dwg AG39-4773-GAE1AG39-4773-GAE rev1 AG42-1418-GAE1.2AG42-1418-GAE Rev1.2.dwg AG44-6605-GAE2AG44-6605-GAErev2.dwg

13. EXAMPLE: ADDING FEATURES  If desired, you can also make Excel relay information using a variety of pop-ups  For example, 9 lines were added to the previous code, as shown on right

14. EXAMPLE: ADDING FEATURES  If desired, you can also make Excel relay information using a variety of pop-ups  For example, 9 lines were added to the previous code, as shown on right  The result is a text pop-up listing the out- of-date drawings  This can be copied directly into Outlook!

15. EXAMPLE: FINAL WORD  VBA is helpful with: Large data sets Repetitive tasks Interacting with other programs Removing sheet protection Hiding formulas Dynamic links to external files

16. REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE Real-world example: BOM => requisition forms

17. REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE  Without VBA:  Sort by manufacturer  Copy data, paste without formatting  Each copy-paste repeated ~15 times per BOM  Error prone  With VBA:  Single button added to ribbon  A single click creates and saves one requisition form per vendor  Fast and low error rate  Furthermore, errors are not the kinds that “slip through the cracks” 4 hour process => 5 minute process!

18. AUTOMATING EXCEL: PROS AND CONS PROS Completes complex tasks quickly Allows for greater control over Excel Reduces errors CONS Large initial time investment Typically not flexible Encourages overreliance on technology

19. CONCLUSION  VBA  is an important part of Microsoft’s history  can speed up repetitive tasks and add features to Excel  is easy to learn and has a helpful online community  requires a large initial time investment but can save hundreds of man-hours!

20. REFERENCES  "Is Visual Basic That Basic?" What Is Visual Basic? Software Engineer Insider, Nov. 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.  Martin, Kipp. "Introduction to VBA." University of Chicago: Booth School of Business (2012): n. pag. 4 Jan. 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.  Power, D. J. "A Brief History of Spreadsheets." DSSResources.com, 30 Aug. 2004. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

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