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DO YOU EXCEL IN ELECTRONICS?

Part 2: The Benefits of Using Excel
by Aubrey Kagan

Start ı Standard Values ı Saving Macros ı Simple Amplifier ı LM317 Calculation ı Goal Seek ı Use of Functions ı Additional Options ı Source and PDF

SAVING MACROS

Excel allows you to save your macros in a number of locations: the workbook you are using currently, a new workbook, or the Personal Macro Workbook (the latter is hidden). I keep my macros in separate Excel files as a kind of library. However, this means that in order to access the functions, you need to point the calling function in the correct direction to find the references.

One method of doing this is going to Tools/Macro/Visual Basic Editor. In the Editor, go to the Tools/References/Browse. Select Files of type Excel and then find the NearestValues.xcl file. You have to do this only once when you create the spreadsheet that will use this function. (As a hint, if you create your own functions in a new worksheet for outside reference, you should also name the module, or the referencing procedure above will generate an error.) For future reference, Iıll call this Method 1.

A second alternative exists if you are prepared to open the workbook NearestValues.xcl while the new spreadsheet is open. Itıs simple to access the functions by doing the following (after the NearestValues.xcl is open). Choose the cell where you want the look up done, select Insert/Function/User Defined, and then select the function you want. The wizard will even prompt you for the source address. For future reference, Iıll call this Method 2. As a third alternative, you could simply cut and paste from this workbook into the new workbook.

Later in the article, Iıll provide more details about using these functions. Keep in mind that a different folder structure may mean that the file reference needs to be altered to match the setup on your computer. To simplify running the macro LookupStandardResB, you could associate it with a key combination by going to Tools/Macro/Macros. Select the macro and click on the Options button. Choose whichever combination you like, but take note that it is possible to overwrite any already existing combination, such as Ctrl + C.

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