Can anyone recommend a good introduction to VBA?

[claytorm]

I have decided it is about time I learnt to use VBA properly. Can anyone point to a good introductory guide? Either online, or a book.

Thanks
Bert

[boylejob]

Bert,

Excel 2003 Power Programming with VBA by John Walkenbach is the book I first started out with and constantly refer back to when I need to know something.

This posting on this forum has a wealth of information
http://www.excelforum.com/showthread.php?t=584092

Lastly, use this forum often. There are a great deal of talented folks monitoring this forum and they can provide techniques that you don't always find in the books.

Hope this helps!

[SuitedAces]

Everyone seems obligated to mention power programming by walkenbach

I really wasn't all that impressed with the book

I read parts of the 2002 book online without the benefit of the cd , so maybe that is where some people see the value, but as for the book itself it's nothing special in my opinion.

you can find the entire 2002 book online in pfd

If you do a search and come up empty let me know and I will dig up the link for you.


another thing that you might want to check is a site called vtc, they have instructional videos online for a bunch programming languages and the fee is like $30 a month

[boylejob]

Please don't get me wrong the John Walkenbach is not the untimate resource and that is not the impression I was trying to give. It is the book that I started out with and it gave me the general information that I needed to get started. I liked it because it is written in a fashion that someone new to VBA can understand. I have been programming in some form or fashion for over 20 years now and have been using VBA for over 8 years. I do refer back to this book regularly for a simplistic explanation of something and there are definitely days I need that.

Most of my VBA knowledege came from trial and error. I have learned more from asking and answering questions on this forum. There is a tremendous amount of stuff that comes out on the forum that I have found in books.

My suggestion is.

1. Read the John Walkenbach book as a primer.
2. Jump in there and start coding.
3. Read the forum posts that interest you.
4. Post questions to the forum that you cannot solve yourself, find answers to via searches, or simply want to see if there is a better way to do it.

All of this is just my humble opionion and you can take it for what you think it is worth.

[Myles]

Bert,

Being a veteran programmer of some sort, I find Jeff's advice invaluable. The forums (and there are a number of them out there) are a great resource field to both learn and keep your fingers in. Beside the daily thrusts, we also do have archived materials on a variety of issues that can be unearthed through the google.

Finally, John Wallk's Power Programming book is a must-read for a beginner and while it may not cover all that needs to be known (no book ever does!), it remains the best reference book on Excel that I know of.