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On 2 January 2008 Michael Hodge gave a presentation entitled "Anyone can write a simple program in Excel". The following are instructions and link to the spreadsheet file Easter.xls, which Michael demonstrated during the talk. Note the link below is to a new version of the spreadsheet provided by Michael on 19 March 2008. The original version can be found here.


On Opening Easter_new.xls, there may be a Security Warning about the program containing Macros. You must click the 'Enable Macros' button if you want the program to work.

To see it in action type a year in cell A1 and then press the button "Easter and other dates".

Make a copy of Easter.xls and keep it in a safe place. This will make it possible to revert to the original for any reason, particularly as 2 out of 3 Worksheets ("Easter and Other Dates" and "Multi-Tasking") finish with formatting the screen.

To view the Code for the Command Button, you will need to select the Control Toolbox.
[View > Toolbars > Control Toolbox]

To remove the Control Toolbox from view, either deselect or click the Close button on the Toolbox.

In "Easter and Other Dates" and "Many Easters", after entering the Year or Years, don't forget to click your Entry key before clicking the Command Button.

In programming, Think First. For instance,
(a) if you want data (whether entered or calculated) to appear in a certain order, build this into your program from the start;
(b) in formatting, think about the order. If you are going to increase the Font Size, do so before auto-fitting the column width.

Excel VBA Help is not installed by default in a standard installation of MS Office. You may need to run the Office setup program again and choose the option to install it.

A recommended book is "Excel VBA in easy steps". (Cost £10.99) www.ineasysteps.com

The purpose of the Talk and of this Easter Workbook is not for you to impress your friends, but to encourage you to experiment with the untapped resources contained within MS Office

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