Excel 2007:
VBA
Programming
Frequently asked questions and instructor notes
All our courses assume that each student has a personal computer to use during the class. Our hands-on approach to learning requires that they do. This topic gives information on how to set up the classroom to teach this course. It includes minimum requirements for the students’ personal computers, setup information for the first time you teach the class, and setup information for each time that you teach after the first time you set up the classroom.
The Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office 2007 suite are subject to continual updating by Microsoft. The versions of each that you install are by definition different from the versions that we used to prepare this course in March 2007. The setup process described here may vary slightly from what you encounter. This also applies to activities and screen shots throughout the course.
Computer requirements
Each student’s personal computer should have:
· A keyboard and a mouse
· Pentium 500 MHz processor (or higher)
· 256 MB RAM (or higher)
· 2 GB of available hard drive space
· CD-ROM drive
· SVGA at 1024 × 768, or higher resolution monitor
Software requirements
You need the following software:
· Windows XP, Service Pack 2 or higher, Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2003
· Microsoft Office 2007
Network requirements
The following network components and connectivity are also required for this course:
· Internet access, for the following purposes:
· Updating the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office 2007 at update.microsoft.com
· Downloading the Student Data files (if necessary)
First-time setup instructions
The first time you teach this course, you need to perform the following steps to set up each student computer.
1 Install Windows XP on an NTFS partition according to the software manufacturer’s instructions.
Note: You can also use Windows Vista or Windows Server 2003, but the screen shots in this course were taken using Windows XP, so students’ screens will look somewhat different.
2 If the operating system is Windows XP, then launch the Control Panel, open the Display Properties dialog box and apply the following settings:
· Theme — Windows XP
· Screen resolution — 1024 by 768 pixels
· Color quality — High (24 bit) or higher
3 Open Internet Explorer and navigate to update.microsoft.com. Update the operating system with the latest critical updates and service packs.
4 Install Microsoft Office 2007 according to the software manufacturer’s instructions as follows:
a When prompted for the CD key, enter the code included with your software.
b Select the Customize installation option and click Next.
c Activate the Installation Options tab.
d For Microsoft Office Excel 2007, Office Shared Features, and Office Tools, click the dropdown arrow and choose Run all from My Computer.
e Set all but the following to Not Available: Microsoft Office Excel 2007, Office Shared Features, and Office Tools.
f Click Install Now.
g On the last screen of the Office 2007 installer, click Go to Office Online. Internet Explorer displays the Office Online Web site, and the installer window closes.
h On the Office Online Web page, activate the Downloads tab.
i Download and install any available updates.
j Close Internet Explorer.
5 If you don’t have the data CD that came with this manual, download the Student Data files for the course. You can download the data directly to student machines, to a central location on your own network, or to a disk.
a Connect to www.courseilt.com/instructor_tools.html.
b Click the link for Microsoft Excel 2007 to display a page of course listings, and then click the link for Excel 2007: VBA Programming.
c Click the link for downloading the Student Data files, and follow the instructions that appear on your screen.
6 Create a student data
folder on each student’s computer, and copy the Student Data files to that
folder.
7 Start Microsoft Office Excel 2007.
a Activate the software. After activating, the Welcome to the 2007 Microsoft Office System dialog box appears.
b On the Privacy Options screen, verify that Search Microsoft Office Online for Help content when I’m connected to the Internet is checked.
c Verify that “Download a file periodically that helps determine system problems” is cleared.
d Verify that “Sign up for the Customer Experience Improvement Program” is cleared.
e Click Next.
f Select “I don’t want to use Microsoft Update.”
g Click Finish to close the dialog box.
8 To ensure that students don’t get a security warning when they open workbooks in Excel, enable macros, and then make each student data folder a trusted location:
a In the Excel Options dialog box, activate the Trust Center page and click Trust Center Settings. The Trust Center dialog box opens.
b From the category list, select Macro Settings.
c Under Macro Settings, select Enable all macros (not recommended; potentially dangerous code can run).
d Under Developer Macro settings, check Trust Access to the VBA project object model.
e Activate the Trusted Locations page.
f Click Add new location. The Microsoft Office 2007 Trusted Location dialog box opens.
g Click Browse and navigate to the student data folder.
h Click OK to close the Browse dialog box.
i Check Subfolders of this location are also trusted.
j Click OK to close the Microsoft Office 2007 Trusted Location dialog box.
k Click OK to close the Trust Center dialog box.
l Click OK to close the Excel Options dialog box.
m Close Excel.
Setup instructions for every class
Every time you teach this course, you need to perform the following steps to set up each student computer.
1 Start Excel. Then, clear the variable declaration requirement, as follows:
a Switch to VBE and choose Tools, Options.
b Under Code Settings, clear Require Variable Declaration.
c Click OK, and close VBE.
2 Hide the Developer tab, as follows:
a Open the Excel Options dialog box.
b On the Popular page, clear Show Developer tab in the Ribbon.
c Click OK to close the Excel Options dialog box.
3 Delete the contents of the Student Data folder, if necessary. (If this is the first time you’re teaching the course, create a folder named Student Data at the root of the hard drive. For a standard hard drive setup, this is C:\Student Data.) If you delete the Student Data folder itself (instead of just the contents), then designate the Student Data folder as a trusted location, as described in the preceding section.
4 Copy the data files to the Student Data folder. (See the download instructions in the preceding section.)
5 Open Internet Explorer and navigate to update.microsoft.com. Update the operating system and Office 2007.
Topic B: Frequently asked questions
There are no frequently asked questions for this course at this time.
Topic C: Course notes
There are no notes for this course at this time.
Topic D: Additional information
There is no additional information for this course at this time.