BSIT 1, BES 1 January Semester 2010 Mr. Ronald Ssejjuuko 0712 029 838

BSIT 1: Information Technology II 1

Uganda Christian UniversityFaculty of Science and Technology

Information Technology IIInformation Technology IIModule II: Advanced Spreadsheets

BSIT 1, BES 1January Semester 2010Mr. Ronald Ssejjuuko

0712 029 [email protected]

Advanced Spreadsheets

This module is designed for experienced spreadsheet users and will enable delegates to develop effective solutions to business problems using many of the advanced features within the Microsoft Excel Applications Package


Creating a New Project s and Websites

The first step is to create a new project to contain our example Visual Basic Application.

Start Visual Studio and select File->New project.

From the new project dialog select Windows Application and name the project myVBapp and click on Ok to create the new project.


Creating a New Project s and Websites

Once the new project is created, Visual Studio will display a blank form ready for us to design the user interface of the application.


Adding Controls to the Form

For the purposes of our example Visual Basic application we are going to add two controls to our form; a push button and a label.

To achieve this we first need to access the Visual Studio Toolbox.

Along the left hand side of the Visual Studio main window you should see a tab labeled Toolbox.



Click on this tab to display the Toolbox. It should appear as follows:



This Toolbox contains all the controls that may be used to build a Graphical User Interface for a Windows application.

The toolbox will auto-hide by default, that is it will disappear when the mouse pointer is moved away from it.



To make it permanently visible click on the push pin icon at the top of the toolbox window. Once it is pinned in place it will not auto-hide. It is also possible to detach the toolbox so that it will float and can be positioned anywhere on the desktop. To do so, simply click on the toolbox title area and drag it.



Controls are added to the Form by clicking on the required control in the Toolbox and dragging it to the desired location on the Form. To add a label to the form, click on the Label control in the Toolbox, drag it to the center of the Form and release the mouse button. The new label will then appear in the Form at the point you dropped it.



Next we need to add a button. Grab a Button from the Toolbox and drag and drop it on the Form. Use the mouse to move the controls around the Form until you have a layout you are happy with.


Setting Control Properties

Now that we have added the controls to our Form we need to change some of the characteristics of these controls.

This is done by changing the Properties of the controls.

Properties are a group of settings that allow the appearance and behavior of controls to be changed.



For example, there is a property for changing the text displayed on a label, the color of a button, the font of the text on a button and so on. Properties of a control are changed using the Visual Studio Properties panel which is, by default, displayed in the bottom right hand corner of the main dialog:





The properties displayed at any one time are related to the currently selected control in the Form. If you click on the Label and then the Button in your Form you will see the properties panel change to reflect the current selection.



To begin with, we will change the text of the Label control. Select the Label control in the form and then scroll down the list of properties until you find Text.

This is the property which defines the text to be displayed on the currently selected Label control. Change this from the current value ('Label1') to read My First VB Application.



Notice that as soon as you change this property the Label in the Form changes to reflect the new property setting.

Select the Button control in the Form and change the Text Property for this control to read Close. Re-position the controls in the Form if necessary. You should now have a Form which looks something like the following:




Creating an Event Handler

The next step is to make the Close button do something when it is pressed. Before we do that, however, we need to give the button a more meaningful name. Visual Studio has given the button a default name of Button1.



While this is fine for a small design, it will quickly become difficult to work with such names in larger applications containing many buttons. With the Button selected in the Form, scroll up to the top of the properties list and change (Name) from Button1 to closeButton.



Having changed the name we can now add an event to the button. Double click on the Button in the Form to display the event code for the closeButton control. Visual Studio will display the following code:



Private Sub closeButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)

Handles closeButton.Click End Sub


Creating an Event Handler This is a Visual basic Subroutine where code

is placed to define what happens when a Click event is detected on the button (i.e. the user clicks on the button in the user interface of our application). In this example we want the application to close when the closeButton is pressed.



To achieve this we add a single line of Visual Basic code to the closeButton_Click() sub-routine as follows so that the code calls the Close() method to exit the application:

Private Sub closeButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)

Handles closeButton.Click

Close()

End Sub


Building and Running a Visual Basic Application

Now that we have completed the design and implementation of a simple Visual Basic application we can compile and run it.

To build the application, select Build myVBapp from the Visual Studio Build menu.



Assuming there are no problems the application should compile without any errors (the message Build succeeded should appear in the status bar at the bottom of the Visual Studio screen).



Once built, the application can be run by selecting Start Debugging from the Debug menu. An even quicker way of building and running the application is to simply press F5.

This will compile and run the application without having to use any menu options. As you develop Visual Basic applications in Visual Studio you will find yourself using the F5 shortcut more than any other key on your keyboard



After a few seconds the application should appear just as you designed it in the Visual Studio designer:



Try out the Click event on the closeButton control by clicking on the Close button to close the application.


Advanced Spreadsheets

oThis Module is designed for experienced spreadsheet users and will enable delegates to develop effective solutions to business problems using many of the advanced features within the Microsoft Excel Applications Package

Worksheet and Workbook Protection

Excel worksheet and workbook protection feature allows you to protect your file being open by

unauthorised person.

You can set the password so that anyone that intends to open the file requires the password to open it.

To specify a password for opening and modifying a workbook

From the File menu, click Save As. From the Save As dialog box displayed,

click on the Tools icon and from the drop down list displayed, select General Options.

From the Save Options dialog box displayed, enter a password into the Password to open: text box. In future you will be required to enter this password in order to open the file.

If you enter a password into the Password to modify: text box, this gives others the ability to open, view and edit a workbook, but not to save it with the same name. They must save a modified version of the workbook with a different name.

Click on the OK button. You will be asked to re-type the password to ensure that it is consistent.

Note:(1) The check box "Always create backup" forces Excel to create a backup copy of the file every time a worksheet file is saved. The file extension BAK is used, and the backup file is saved in the same folder as the original file.

(2) If the "Read-only recommended" check box is ticked, the following dialog box is displayed when the file is re-opened.

Click Yes. The file is reopen but with the feature ‘read-

only’. If you needed to make changes on the

worksheet, you cannot save the file with the same file name. So, changing the file name allows you to save the file.

To remove a password from a workbook

Open the workbook containing the password you wish to remove (by entering the password when prompted).

From the File menu, click Save As. From the Save As dialog box displayed, click on the Tools

icon, and from the drop down list displayed select General Options.

From the Save Options dialog box displayed, clear either or both passwords text box.

Click on the OK button to close the Save Options dialog box.

Click on the Save button to save the file, which will display a dialog box.

Click on the Yes button.

To protect a workbook

From the Tools menu, point to Protection and click on Protect Workbook.

This will display the Protect Workbook dialog box.

From the Protect Workbook dialog box displayed, you have two options: • StructurePrevents any changes to the structure of the workbook

if checked. i.e. you will be unable to edit, insert, delete, rename, copy, move or hide sheets. Windows Prevents changes to the workbooks size.

• The windows re-sizing controls (close, maximize, minimize and restore) are hidden.

In the Password column, you can enter a password (case sensitive). Click OK.

You will be asked to re-type the password to ensure that it is consistent.

Click OK.

To unprotect a workbook

From the Tools menu, point to Protection and click on Unprotect Workbook.

Enter the required password and click on OK.

To protect a worksheet From the Tools menu, point to Protection and

click on Protect Sheet. This will displays the Protect Sheet dialog box.

From the Protect Sheet dialog box displayed, you can choose any option from the lists if you ALLOW other users to modify the checked option in the worksheet.

In the Password to unprotect sheet: column, you can enter a password (case sensitive). Click OK.

You will be asked to re-type the password to ensure that it is consistent.

Click OK.

To unprotect a worksheet

From the Tools menu, point to Protection and click on Unprotect Worksheet.

Enter the required password and click on OK.

Using Templates: Apply templates

Turn on your computer and open Excel. Click on "File" in the tool bar and select

"New." This will open a sidebar to the right of your Excel document.

Under "Templates" click on the link that says "On my computer." This will open the "Templates" window.


Apply templates

Click on the tab labeled "Spreadsheet Solutions." This will display the list of templates available on your computer. Select the template of your choice and then click "OK."

A new window should now be open and the template you selected should be displayed. Now you can fill in the template, and then save and name it accordingly.


Edit templates

Excel recognizes two templates that it uses automatically, even if you don't specify a template to use. These templates allow you to customize new worksheets that you insert and new workbooks that you create.


Customize new worksheets

You can create a template named Sheet.xlt to specify the settings for new worksheets.

For example, if you don't want to use gridlines, you must turn them off for each worksheet individually.

If you prefer all new worksheets that you insert to have gridlines already turned off, you can create a Sheet.xlt template that has gridlines turned off.


Customize new workbooks

To specify settings for all new workbooks that you create by clicking the New button on the Standard toolbar or by clicking the Workbook icon in the New dialog box, you can create a template named Book.xlt.

For example, new workbooks have three worksheets initially, but if you prefer more or fewer worksheets, you can create a Book.xlt template with the number of worksheets you want.


Where to store templates

Depending on how you want to use templates, you can store them in the default locations, in personal use locations, or in shared locations.

For more information about the template folders and their locations, type location of settings in the Office Assistant or on the Answer Wizard tab in the Excel Help window, and then click Search.


Default locations

For Excel to use the default templates Sheet.xlt and Book.xlt, you must store these templates in the xlstart folder.

If you later want to stop using either of these templates and resume inserting blank worksheets and creating blank workbooks, delete the Sheet.xlt or Book.xlt file.


Personal use

Put templates you create for your own use in your Templates folder (for the location of this folder, type location of settings in the Office Assistant or on the Answer Wizard tab in the Excel Help window, and then click Search).

The Templates folder is where Excel puts templates you create if you don't specify a different location.


Personal use

You can also put templates in your xlstart folder.

Templates you put in your templates folder are available immediately, and templates you save to your xlstart folder are available as soon as you close the template, but if you copy a template to your xlstart folder you must exit and restart Excel to make the template available.


Shared use

To make templates available to your workgroup, save them to a shared network folder and then have everyone in the group specify this location as their alternate startup location.

To set your alternate startup location, click Options on the Tools menu, click the General tab, and then type the path to the folder in the Alternate startup file location box.


Shared use After you change this setting or add templates

to this folder, exit and restart Excel for your changes to take effect.

Note Use the xlstart folder and the alternate startup file location only for templates and for other files that you want Excel to open whenever you run it. Excel makes all templates in these folders available, and tries to open all files of other types that are stored in these folders.


Accessing templates

Templates that you store in your Templates folder, xlstart folder, and alternate startup file location appear on the General tab of the New dialog box. Templates stored in other locations don't appear in the dialog box. Excel opens templates in other locations for edit, instead of creating new workbooks based on them.


Accessing templates

Tip If you want your personal templates to appear on their own tab in the New dialog box, so that you can access more than one template that has the same file name, create a subfolder of the Templates folder and put your templates in this subfolder. Your templates will then appear on a tab with the same name as the subfolder.


Accessing templates

For example, if you create a folder named Corporate in your Templates folder and move your templates into the Corporate folder, the New dialog box will then have a Corporate tab that lists your templates. You can add folders that become tabs only in the Templates folder, not in the alternate startup location.


Accessing templates

For information and guidelines about places to store templates, type store templates in the Office Assistant or on the Answer Wizard tab in the Excel Help window, and then click Search


How to create a template

Create a new workbook and enter the data, formatting, and settings you want the template to have.

On the File menu, click Save As, and in the Save as type box, click Template (*.xlt).

Type a name for the template and then click Save. Excel automatically puts the template in the right location so you can use it the next time you create a workbook.


How to create a workbook from a template On the File menu, click New, and then

click the General tab. Click the template you want, and then

click OK. Excel creates a new workbook based on

the template and names it using the name of the template.


How to create a workbook from a template

For example, if your template is named Budget, the first workbook you create from the template is named Budget1, the second workbook is named Budget2, and so on. You can save the workbook with a different name like any other workbook



Note If you're familiar with Word templates, you'll find that Excel templates work differently.

Unlike Word templates, Excel templates don't remain attached to the workbook, and you can't reattach or reapply Excel templates to existing workbooks.



Excel templates only affect a workbook when you create it, and the workbooks you create are independent of the template, and each other, from then on. Once you create a workbook from a template, you can modify any of the data and settings that the workbook inherited from the template, and your changes to the workbook have no effect on the template.


How to change an existing template

To change data and settings in a template, make sure you open the template file, not a workbook based on the template.

On the File menu, click Open. In the Files of type box, click Templates

(*.xlt).



In the Look in box, click the folder that contains the template you want to modify (usually this is the Templates subfolder in your Windows Profiles folder).

Click the template, and then click Open. Make your changes, and then save and

close the template.



Note Changes you make to a template don't apply retroactively to workbooks that you've already created from the template. Your changes affect only new workbooks that you create from the modified template


More information

For more information about creating and using templates, type templates in the Office Assistant or on the Answer Wizard tab in the Excel Help window, and then click Search.

Excel 2000 provides a set of ready-to-use templates that help you create business forms such as invoices and purchase orders.

These templates are available on the Spreadsheet Solutions tab of the New dialog box when you click New on the File menu. The templates are also good examples of how macros and custom toolbars can enhance the capabilities of a template.


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BSIT 1, BES 1 January Semester 2010 Mr. Ronald Ssejjuuko 0712 029 838

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