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As you becomes more and more experienced with Excel
and VBA programming, you will find that you have more and more questions,
especially as you start exploring more advanced topics in VBA
programming. This page describes some of the places on the
Internet you can find help and information.
The Microsoft Knowledge Base
(User Level: ALL)
The Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) is a huge
collection of articles provided MS Technical Support. These articles
include "how to" information, answers to common questions, and
bug reports. The bug reports often contains work-around solutions
for the problems.
You can reach the main search page at http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp
. From this page, you search the KB by specific keyword (e.g.,
"VBA Form"), or by specific article number (e.g.,
"Q157609"), or by download file name. You can also search
by typing in a "natural language" question, like "what does
divide by zero mean?". For the most part, keyword
searches give the best results.
If you receive an answer in the public newsgroups
which says something like "See KB Q157609", it is referring to
article number Q157609 in the Knowledge Base. To view this article,
set the "Search By" option to "Specific article ID
number", and enter "Q157609" in the "Search For"
entry box. It helps to include the "Q" in the article
number.
When you search by keywords, it can be useful to use
only the singular form of a word, rather than the plural form. For
example, use "Range" instead of "Ranges".
Additional search examples are available at http://support.microsoft.com/support/help/examples.asp
.
The Microsoft Developer's Network
(User Level: Intermediate To Advanced)
The Microsoft Developer's Network (MSDN) is a great
resource for intermediate and advanced level programmers in VBA.
MSDN Online is available at http://msdn.microsoft.com/default.asp
There are several on-line magazines available,
including MSDN Magazine
and MSDN Online Voices.
The cover topics in all of the MS Development tools, including C/C++ and
Visual Basic, not just Office topics.
The Library
section of MSDN gives you access to a vast amount of technical and
reference information. The complete documentation for both Office97
and Office2000 is available online, as is the complete text of the Microsoft
Office 2000 Visual Basic Programmer's Guide. You can also get
the complete reference to all of the Windows API (Application Programming
Interface) calls, which allow your VBA macros to make requests and get
information directly from the Windows operating system, bypassing VBA
completely. Extensive sample code is also available.
While most users may be satisfied with the on-line
version, you can order a CD or DVD subscription to MSDN, updated
quarterly, for $200 per year.
The Microsoft Public Newsgroups
(User Level: ALL)
When you have a specific question about Excel or VBA
programming (or any other MS product), the best source of information is,
by far, the public Excel newsgroups. Just point your newsreader
program (such as MS Outlook Express or Forte Agent) to the msnews.microsoft.com
public server, and search the available newsgroups for the one that is
most relevant to your question. These are publicly available
question-and-answer forums, for peer-to-peer support. MS Tech
Support does not read the message to the newsgroups, and MS Tech Support
does not provide the replies.
The replies are provided by other users from all
walks of life, for all over the world. If you are new to the
newsgroups, please read the "Hints And Tips
For New Posters" guide.
Microsoft Office Update
(User Level: ALL)
OfficeUpdate
at Microsoft is the best place to look for upgrades and add-ins for
your Office programs. There are hundreds of free downloads
available, as well as trial version of many commercial products. You
can also download the latest security patches for Office from this
site.
Microsoft Events
(User Level: Advanced)
Microsoft presents many events in all regions of the
country through out the year. You can search for events in
your area here.
Many of these events are free and open to the public (although you must
register to attend), and others are expensive week-long
conventions.
Microsoft Newsletters
(User Level: Intermediate)
MS publishes a number of newsletters delivered
weekly or monthly to your email. Start at Microsoft
This Week. This is a weekly update of general product news from
MS. From there, you can subscribe to any of more than a dozen
newsletters, each with technical and product information about various
topics. While much of the information is Microsoft marketing and public
relations, there is also a lot of good technical information, and links to
other MS web pages.
Woody's Office Watch
(User Level: ALL)
Woody Leonhard publishes "Woody's Office
Watch" and "Woody's Windows Watch", email newletters send
out every two or three weeks. These are great sources of
hints, tips, and bug information about MS products. You can
subscribe at http://www.woodyswatch.com/
Excel Experts E-Letter (EEE)
(User Level: Intermediate To
Advanced)
This is an email newsletter published by Microsoft
MVP David Hager. Published monthly, it is a collection of formulas and VBA
procedures. Many of these have appeared in the Microsoft newsgroups,
and David digests and summarizes them in a concise and easy to read
format. You can subscribe by sending an email to David Hager at dchager@compuserve.com
. EEE archives are available on the web at John Walkenbach's site: http://www.j-walk.com/ss/excel/eee/index.htm
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