This is a guest post by Vijay, our in-house VBA Expert.
Often I have thought, if I could have write “Select EmployeeName From Sheet Where EmployeeID=123” and use this on my excel sheet, my life would be simpler. So today we will learn how to do this.
People spend a lot of time thinking whether to use Excel as their database or not. Eventually they start using Access or SQL Server etc.
Today we will learn how to use Excel as a Database and how to use SQL statements to get what we want.
Excel as a Database – Demo
We will learn how to build this:
Before we begin:
- The entire sheet (where the raw data has been stored) will be referred as one single database table by Excel. This is very important to understand.
- This has nothing related with the in-built Table (2007 and greater) / List (2003 and previous) feature of Excel.
- If you know SQL (Structured Query Language) your task becomes much easier.
Setting up Excel as Database
We need some raw data and we will utilize Customer Service Dashboard sample database here.
Let’s get started.
First we will design the structure of what all option we want to present for filtering the data, which you can see in the interface below.
Once the user clicks on Show Data we will use a SQL statement to filter-out the data as per the drop down options selected by the user and the put them in the table below.
We will also use another SQL statement to populate the top right hand side table for calls data when all the 3 drop downs have some options selected.
Adding Active-x data objects reference
We need to add a reference to the Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects Library to be able to use the worksheet as a database table. You can do this from Visual Basic Editor > Tools.
I usually select the most recent version, however if you are developing a product it will be best suited if you are familiar with the operating system and office version used by the end-user’s system and accordingly select the best version available.
Opening Excel as a Database
Once this is done we need to hit the road with some VBA code.
Public Sub OpenDB()
If cnn.State = adStateOpen Then cnn.Close
cnn.ConnectionString = "Driver={Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls, *.xlsx, *.xlsm, *.xlsb)};DBQ=" & _
ActiveWorkbook.Path & Application.PathSeparator & ActiveWorkbook.Name
cnn.Open
End Sub
The above procedure is the heart of this post, this is where we define how to use the current Excel workbook as our database.
cnn.ConnectionString = "Driver={Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls, *.xlsx, *.xlsm, *.xlsb)};DBQ=" & _
ActiveWorkbook.Path & Application.PathSeparator & ActiveWorkbook.Name
On this line, we define all the possible file extensions that we are allowed to create an Excel Workbook and then use as our database.
Let’s understand the code module
When you click on the Update Drop Downs button, the VBA code uses the “Data” worksheet as a table and then finds unique values for Products, Region and Customer Types and then populates them as ListItems for the ComboBox controls.
Example for Products drop down
strSQL = "Select Distinct [Product] From [data$] Order by [Product]"
closeRS
OpenDB
cmbProducts.Clear
rs.Open strSQL, cnn, adOpenKeyset, adLockOptimistic
If rs.RecordCount > 0 Then
Do While Not rs.EOF
cmbProducts.AddItem rs.Fields(0)
rs.MoveNext
Loop
Else
MsgBox "I was not able to find any unique Products.", vbCritical + vbOKOnly
Exit Sub
End If
What is important to notice here is how the Table and Fields have been identified using square brackets unlike traditional SQL where we just provide the name, also the table name has to be suffixed with a $ symbol at the end.
As I have suggested earlier, one entire sheet will be treated as one single table, so if you have multiple datasets that were currently organized within one sheet you may have to create multiple sheets to store that data to be able to use them as tables. This would also make maintenance of data easier.
Using Excel SQL to consolidate two sheets in to one
Many people ask, how to consolidate 2 or more sheets which have the similar data. Well I would have adopted this method and wrote a simple query as below.
SELECT ID, FirstName, MiddleName, LastName, Age, DOB From [Table1$]
UNION ALL
SELECT ID, FirstName, MiddleName, LastName, Age, DOB From [Table2$]
This would allow me to use both the sheets as one table and fetch all of my data into a new sheet.
Download Excel As Database Demo File
Click here to download the demo file & use it to understand this technique.
Do you use Excel as a database?
Do you also user Excel as your database? If yes please put in the comment below how do you use the same and what has been your experience. Leave a comment.
More on VBA & Macros
If you are new to VBA, Excel macros, go thru these links to learn more.
Join our VBA Classes
If you want to learn how to develop applications like these and more, please consider joining our VBA Classes. It is a step-by-step program designed to teach you all concepts of VBA so that you can automate & simplify your work.
Click here to learn more about VBA Classes & join us.
About Vijay
Vijay (many of you know him from VBA Classes), joined chandoo.org full-time this February. He will be writing more often on using VBA, data analysis on our blog. Also, Vijay will be helping us with consulting & training programs. You can email Vijay at sharma.vijay1 @ gmail.com. If you like this post, say thanks to Vijay.
15 Responses to “A Gantt Chart Alternative – Gantt Box Chart”
That's a great idea.
Maybe the planned End Date should be highlight more.
I don't know how it would look like (nor how to do it yet), but what if instead of finishing the bold line to the best case End Date, it finishes to the realistic End Date?
The idea is ok, I think other project management tools have this, already? Maybe not.
Gantt charts in my view are about the signal most unless thing in the world, theres no way you can look at one thats more that a little complex and understand what it's telling you. I'm going to write a diatribe on project management at some point, its one of my pet areas I think!! 😉
The issue I have with this chart Chandoo, is that Tasks need to be linked to each other, so they should inherit the uncertainty, which would mean the as you moved down chart the lines would be miles apart for later tasks, and you might have to add lots of lines for subsequent tasks to cover the various outcome of it's parents.
Having said that, for the high level board summary, it's a nice way to go, it it appeals to the management 😉
thanks Chandoo, great post.
Ross
Whoooa !!! That's a very clever idea Chandoo. I really love it.
I think i'll update my gantt project sheet with that idea soon (remember my template ?)
@ross : you can link start date to the end date of the previous task in your data. The only problem I still se is to which end date (real ? planned ? best ?) in order to have average amount of information.
If best end date, you'll tend to increase uncertainty at the end of chain, although if you link to real end date, uncertainty will be decreased too much, leading in both cases to wrong management direction.
Maybe planned till the task is finished then real will do the job ?
Hey chandoo, this looks good and this would definite add value in production planning / scheduling. Uncertainity in finishing a task is very high in production scheduling and this could give an insight or a bird eye view of possible shipments we can have....
I've always been frustrated by the limitations of gantt charts. Will definitely use this, I've always struggled with how to succinctly communicate the uncertainty of certain tasks without confusing stakeholders.
I like this, I think it's a very effective way of showing how a timeline can change and which parts of a project need close attention.
@Cyril / @Ross: I would intially link the the start date to the planned end date of the previous task, with the chart updating when a task has been completed to reflect the true end date.
Or what about giving a drop-down selection box to allow the user to see the chart based on planned/best-case/worst-case end dates?
Like the idea. Have found that Excel is more flexible than MS Project for graphical solutions. The "Best Case"\"Worst Case" metrics are theoretically appealing but once the project and\or phase commences their reliability diminishes. A chart like the above that showed Planned Start, Planned End, Replan End Start, Replan End Date, Number of Replans the Start and End Dates, and Actual would provide an active, actionable view of each task\phase. It would also highlight the areas which are riskiest.
It is always amazing how flexible excel can be.
My question is how would the chart show a scenario where the date moved up? If a task is dropped or the duration of the task is significantly reduced by applying more people or machinery to the task, the dates will move up.
The gantt chart has been around for a long time, but it is still quite useful to show progress.
Cheers,
B
I like the idea but seems bit complicated in case of long projects involving numerous activity.
Also, reading and explaining is required hence not feasible where plans are just send to audience for approval.
Cheers
SY
Great idea Chandoo,
When I was reading this idea regarding delivery dates, another thought popped into my mind, how can you show the uncertainty with MONEY!!
In this case, applies to cost management or even a normal budget, you think?
Would Box Chart and Gannt Chart help to understand the best case, middle case and worst case when money is spend or planned with these three risks are involved?
I imagine that this chart could help people who write their budgets get a better understanding of risks affecting their spending.
Peter
Chandoo,
I like it. How would you display an entry once it has been completed (actual)?
Thank you,
Matt
From what you have shown so far I think that this box Gantt chart is awesome! I think that this could be an extremely useful tool.
I can't wait to learn how to make my own charts in Excel.
Will the methods that you are going to teach us work in 2003 as well?
[...] Firday, we proposed a new chart for showing project plans. I chose an ugly name for it and called it Gantt Box [...]
You need to read Eli Goldratt's Critical Chain. The uncertainty you are looking for should be accounted for in a project buffer. Not at each task level.
Further you should spend time understanding Agile Development. This would have you plan only in 1-3week iterations. This allows you to embrace changes to work not yet started, and for your customer to re-direct your course at regular intervals (after each iteration) throughout your project. keyword search: Agile Scrum
These items will show you that you are solving a tracking problem for something that you can entirely avoid!
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