Section 1.3.Try It


1.3. Try It

That's the grand vision, but even if you don't intend to install SharePoint or build a web-based interface to your business processes, you can still make use of the new Excel features. Table 1-1 is a guide to the new Excel features, where they are located in this book, and how to use them.


Note: Is Excel 2003 a big deal? On the surface, not much has changed there are a handful of new objects and the user interface of Excel is largely the same. Underneath that are fundamental shifts implied by the new features: Lists, XML, web services, .NET, and InfoPath build a framework for entirely new ways to exchange data with Excel.

Table 1-1. Guide to Excel 2003 features
FeatureLook hereUse to

Workspaces and lists

Chapter 2

Share workbooks and ranges of cells.
Sort and filter ranges of cells.
Control user access to shared items.

XML

Chapter 3

Transform spreadsheets into HTML and other formats.
Transform XML data files into workbooks.
Map XML data to ranges of cells.

Web services

Chapter 4

Get dynamic results from the Web.
Control remote components, such as SharePoint lists, through VBA code.

.NET programmability

Chapter 5

Build .NET components to use from Excel.
Work with Excel from VB.NET.
Create Excel .NET applications.

Security

Chapter 6

Password-protect workbooks and ranges.
Control user access to ranges.
Restrict permissions on workbooks.
Digitally sign workbooks and macros.
Distribute Excel security settings.

InfoPath

Chapter 7

Create XML data entry forms.
Link a form to a database or web service.
Validate data entries.
Convert from data to HTML.
Program InfoPath forms in VBScript or VB.NET.


The following sections provide quick tutorials on using the new Excel features together. There is more detail in the chapters, including how the new approaches compare to features from earlier versions of Excel, but let's not get bogged down in those details here. This is a great place to get up and running quickly, as well as get a top-level view of what's new.


Note: If you get stuck trying to follow along, open the sample ch01.xls to see how I did it.



    Excel 2003 Programming. A Developer's Notebook
    Excel 2003 Programming: A Developers Notebook (Developers Notebook)
    ISBN: 0596007671
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2004
    Pages: 133
    Authors: Jeff Webb

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