There’s a recurring theme that often comes up in discussions about VBA: people either demonize it or dismiss it outright. You’ll hear things like, “VBA is outdated,” or “That’s not Excel, that’s VBA,” as if VBA exists as some separate entity with its own flaws and limits. I, too, have criticized VBA for specific reasons, but the problem with these blanket statements is that they fail to recognize the real distinction: there’s VBA, and there’s VBA. These aren’t just two sides of the same coin—they are entirely different experiences depending on how VBA is used.
This all reminds me of a conversation I had with Eric Hartwig, where I explained that VBA isn’t some homogeneous beast. The term “VBA macros,” for example, is a contradiction that many fail to see. Why? It comes down to a lack of understanding regarding the origins of these terms. To truly understand the tension between VBA and macros, you need to dig into the etymology of these concepts.
Automation: A Misunderstood Mess
Here’s the crux of my rant: when most people think of VBA, they envision it automating manual processes. But the truth is, when you simply automate a manual process, you end up with the same mess—just faster. Worse yet, manual processes are not as static as people assume. They involve constant, unconscious adjustments for variations.
It’s like driving. You might take the same route to work every day, but you’re always making small adjustments—stopping for pedestrians at a zebra crossing, or reacting to someone jaywalking when the light is green. These adjustments are subtle and often unconscious, yet they’re critical to the task. If you try to automate a manual process without accounting for these nuances, your automation will fall apart sooner rather than later.
The Power of Objects, Not VBA
Here’s where the distinction I made to Eric becomes important: VBA isn’t doing anything magical by itself. VBA is just a tool to manipulate the objects within Excel. The true power lies in those objects—the built-in capabilities of Excel, which you can manipulate either manually or programmatically. When you manipulate them programmatically, you can do so with far more precision and robustness than by hand.
In fact, some of the most powerful Excel features aren’t even visible on the ribbon. For example, components like the scripting dictionary or ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) provide incredible capabilities, but they can only be accessed programmatically. ADO, for instance, is a game-changer in data access within Excel. These components allow you to leverage Excel’s power in ways that go far beyond typical automation.
This leads to the core issue: people often think of VBA as a clunky, outdated tool because they’re stuck automating messy, manual processes. But VBA—when used correctly—does something much more sophisticated. It’s about manipulating Excel’s powerful objects in a precise, scalable way. The problem is, many don’t see this distinction. They lump all VBA under one umbrella, assuming it’s synonymous with automating repetitive tasks.
VBA Challenges: Let’s Put It to the Test
In this context, I had an idea: Why not challenge a group of VBA experts? Ask them to solve a specific problem using VBA—something like a call handler system. This is where the differences between VBA approaches really come to light. It’s one thing to use VBA to automate a basic task, but it’s quite another to use it in a more sophisticated, dynamic way.
I’m thinking of posting a challenge on LinkedIn to see how different VBA experts approach the problem. The solutions could highlight the nuances of how VBA can truly be used to solve complex problems versus simply automating basic processes.
VBA and the Excel Ecosystem
At the end of the day, VBA’s role within Excel depends on the context. If you’re working in a standalone spreadsheet environment, VBA might serve one purpose. But if you’re in a situation where the spreadsheet needs to connect multiple people and processes, VBA can serve a very different function. It’s in this second world—the world of interconnected processes—that VBA really shines, and where the confusion between “VBA” and “VBA” becomes most apparent.
That’s why I’m keen to explore this idea further and get feedback from the VBA community. By seeing how VBA is used in different scenarios, we can start to dismantle the misconceptions surrounding it.
In conclusion, the misunderstanding of VBA comes from a failure to recognize its true potential: it’s not just about automating manual processes; it’s about harnessing Excel’s objects in a way that manual methods simply can’t match. I’m eager to see how VBA experts respond to my call for a challenge and what solutions they come up with for real-world problems. The result might just be a hilarious but eye-opening exploration of how misunderstood VBA really is.
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