Visual Basic Programming

Understanding the Practical Applications of Visual Basic Programming

You should be careful not to confuse Visual Basic for Applications with Visual Basic. Visual Basic is a stand-alone programming language that allows you to create .exe files.

Visual Basic programming is conducted using a program called VBA – Visual Basic for Applications. This programming language was developed by Microsoft. Other programs developed by Microsoft such as Excel (spreadsheets) use the Visual Basic programming language.

Excel is used for many, many different tasks. Some of the things that excel can handle include maintaining lists, budgeting and forecasting, analyzing data, creating invoices, using forms and formulas and developing charts and graphs from raw data. Using Excel for your site or even such for small business back end operations is vital and this is where Visual Basic programming can help.

To automate your current processes you can use what are known as VBA macros. VBA macros enable you to make simple processes like report generation easy. As an example, you might have a sales report that you need to generate each month from raw sales data from your team. With one Visual Basic macro command, you can generate this report with ease, allowing you to get on with other important tasks.

Here are some examples of visual basic macros that can help you improve efficiency in your working environment:

• Inserting a text string - If you need to enter your company name into worksheets each day when you are entering your sales or expenses data, you can create a Visual Basic programming macro that will automatically type this information in for you on command.
• Automating repetitive tasks - If you need to perform the same task in a variety of places – for instance, 5 of 6 different spreadsheets, you can perform the task and record it while you are performing it – thereby creating a Visual Basic macro command. Now you can repeat the task in each work book via this single command.