Entevista com John Walkenbach

O blog chandoo.org fez uma entrevista bastante interessante com John Walkenbach.

Na minha opinião ele é o melhor escritor de livros de Excel que existe no mundo.

Separei algumas perguntas interessantes. Você pode ler a íntegra aqui.

Q: Excel 2003 or 2007?

I have both versions installed on my system. I keep 2003 around only to answer questions that are specific to that version. Although it has some problems, I much prefer Excel 2007. A lot of it is aesthetic. Excel 2007 looks good, Excel 2003 doesn’t. And besides, I have a difficult time remembering where the commands are located on the 2003 menu system.

Which books / resources would you recommend for an excel newbie, excel intermediate user and excel pro?

I can only recommend my own books because I’ve never read any other Excel books. I’ve paged through a few, but I’ve actually never read one. So…

Newbie: Excel Bible

Intermediate: Excel Bible and/or Excel Formulas

Pro: Excel Formulas and/or Excel Power Programming With VBA

Is there a point in learning excel, in the era of web spreadsheets and powerful drag-and-drop analytical apps?

Absolutely. Excel is going to be with us for a long time. Count on it.

What is the future of Excel & spreadsheet software?

I have no idea. I don’t spend much time thinking about such things. Microsoft often surprises me with what that put into Excel. But they also frustrate me by not doing things that they should have done years ago. It’s nice that Excel is finally getting some competition once again, in the form of open source and online spreadsheet apps.

Your tips for people learning VBA?

Start with something simple, but also meaningful to you. Then, gradually expand it — testing at every step of the way.

When you need to use an unfamiliar property or method, create a small “experimental” procedure for testing. Play around with it until you’re comfortable. Then incorporate it you’re your actual project.

You should also take the time to learn how to use tools such as the Object Browser, the Immediate Window, and Step mode. And always declare your variables.

Your advice for people who make excel add-ins, excel based products.

I think the most common question I get from would-be add-in programmers is: “How can I protect my work so it won’t be stolen.” The answer is, you can’t. There will always be people who want to steal your work, and they will. But, for the most part, these people would not have purchased your product anyway. With my PUP add-in, I make the VBA code available for a small fee. Amazingly, I haven’t seen any other commercial add-ins that have incorporated my code. They might exist; I just haven’t seen them.

Thank you John for your informative and entertaining interview.