Did you see the latest entry at David Gainer’s blog? Formula Autocomplete.

Finally, it will be possible to write a SUBTOTAL formula without consulting the Help! But one of the commenters makes a good point about the SUBTOTAL function:

So… please help me understand why you’re using a function number rather than just the name of a function. When we’re skimming through a sheet, or looking at a print out of formula view, we’ll have to have learned which numbers refer to which functions, won’t we? Or am I missing the point completely?

The top-10 reasons I’m looking forward to Excel 12.

1. A new name. Will it be called Excel Vista? If so, I want to go on record as being the first person to point out that the name contains the word Elvis.
2. Updating my books will be easier. It’s no fun trying to update an Excel book when there’s very little that’s new. In other words, readers can look forward to scads of those little “NEW FEATURE” icons in the margins.
3. New newsgroup questions. Everybody knows that 95% of the newsgroups questions have already been asked and answered. When Excel 12 is released, that number may drop as low as 90% (at least for a while).
4. Terminology challenges. I love a good challenge, and mastering Excel 12’s terminology definitely qualifies. In past, I could write: Select Format – Conditional Formatting to display the Conditional Formatting dialog box. With Excel 12, it will probably require two pages to describe.
5. A new splash screen. It’s the little things that make life worthwhile. I’m really looking forward to seeing something different during those 3-4 seconds while Excel loads.
6. New Help system. Everybody complains about the Help system. Now we’ll be able to come up with an entirely new set of complaints.
7. Fiddlin’ with the XML files. I think it will be fun to come up with utilities that work directly with the XML files. It opens the door to a whole new class of pranks.
8. Updating my stack of paper calcs. In many of my books, I include a sidebar that calculates how tall the stack of paper would be if you filled every cell in a worksheet and printed it out. With Excel 12, I may also be able to calculate the number of trees required.
9. The diagrams. Playing with the new diagram features is a great way to waste time, yet still look productive. I can’t wait to animate those suckers.
10. Finding the object model lapses. You just know that some of the new features won’t be fully accessible using VBA. Who will be the first to find them?

What else?

If Dick were any kind of a Blogmeister, he would have made a post to welcome me as the newest DDoE contributor. But it seems that he’s too busy resort-hopping and schmoozing with accountants.

So I’ll pick up the slack and welcome myself to the Daily Dose of Excel. It’s a pleasure having me here, and I look forward to reading my contributions. I thank myself for signing up as contributor.

Some of you may recall that I started my own Excel blog (Excel Watch) a few months ago. The original intent was to monitor and discuss the new features in the upcoming Excel 12. Little did I know that the Microsoft Office folks were poised to jump on the blog bandwagon. David Gainer’s excellent Excel Blog made my Excel Watch fairly useless. So now it’s officially abandoned, and it’s sitting out in cyberspace collecting cyberdust.

Speaking of collecting dust, my Spreadsheet Page continues to stagnate. Most of the material at that site is still good, but it needs a complete redesign and general clean-up. But that’s a huge task and I lack the motivation to even begin. Hopefully, I’ll be adding lots of new material once Excel 12 hits the streets. In the meantime, running the J-Walk Blog is an excellent diversion that keeps me from doing any real work.

I have no idea what types of material I’ll be posting here. Maybe becoming a DDoE contributor will motivate me to actually come up with something new for Excel (if such a thing is even possible).