Tools to use with Excel
When MSFT release a beta of an upcoming version of Excel (like the present one for Excel 2007) many developers & users would like to test it but don’t have access to softwares like vmWare (which I use) and Virtual PC (which other may use). One option is to use Altiris Software Virtualization Solution (SVS), which create virtualized layers that can be used to test softwares with. Two versions exist, one free for strictly personal use and one for commercial use. It require Windows 2000 SP-4 and later. It’s strongly recommended to take part of and carefully read the documentation of the software.
My favourite tool to create screenshots with is SnagiT. However, this is a commercial software and therefore may not be available for everyone. So when You are testing the beta of Excel 2007 and get some weird errors on the screen You would like to report to MSFT then one option is to use Screenshot Captor which is a free tool. It’s highly recommended to read the online help.
Speaking about Excel 2007, don’t even think to run it with a screen resolution of 800×600. The best resolution would be 1280 x 1024 or higher due to the excellent UI.
Kind regards,
Dennis
Thanks for the links Dennis.
I agree with your screen resolution comments :)
Glad to see 800 x 600 passing by way of 640 x 480…
I’ve been running 2007 for a while now, and i dont likeit one bit!!!!
And what the hell is is with that horrid office blue colour, it was there in 03, and it’s here in 07, it make me feel ill!
Ross, if you don’t like the horrid office blue color scheme, you can always change it to horrid office gray. Use Excel Options, Personalize.
LOL… the grey is even worse :)
Good one on the UI:
I bought a bigger screen so I could see more of the spreadsheet – not so somebody else could fill it up with meaningless cheesy icons (and the dreaded ribbon)
As an experienced user I just can’t help asking “what’s in it for me?”
The classic UI achieves pretty much all I need to use it as a tool.
M
Hi, speaking about various pieces of software, I use for creating contents of my site tools as follows:
MWSnap – screen grabber – http://www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/mwsnap.html
Wink – tutorial and presentation creation software (grab your actions on screen – presumably in Excel ;) and convert them to animation in Flash) – http://www.debugmode.com/wink/
TreePadLite – powerful information organizer – I use it as repository of VBA codes and various tips I found by surfing – http://www.treepad.com
All tools are freeware.
Jiri Cihar
http://www.dataspectrum.cz
Czech site dedicated to Excel
Mpemba,
Don’t let the UI prevent You from exploring Excel 2007. If You’ve been following David Gainer’s blog You can track down the good parts together with some excellents comments from several well known Excel people.
Kind regards,
Dennis
>I bought a bigger screen so I could see more of the spreadsheet
Ctl+F1 will hide the ribbon, getting it out of your way when you don’t need it.
It’s not a persistent setting, so you’ll have to hit Ctrl+F1 when you need to hide it again.
Unlike the Classic UI where there is no need to hid the single unobtrusive toolbar :o)