CP019: 6 Tips for Best Practice Modeling – Interview with Danielle from Plum Solutions

10 Responses to “CP019: 6 Tips for Best Practice Modeling – Interview with Danielle from Plum Solutions”

1. Akos says:

   September 5, 2014 at 7:38 am

   Hello Chandoo,

   Thanks to you and Danielle for deliverying this podcast, it is an excellent piece! Listening to it I think we could add one more practice to modelling (to customers) that is to protect the cells with formulas against editing.
   This can be controversial, as it could make editing the model cumbersome, but I have seen many times end users by accident modifying the formulas resulting in the collapse of the model... so I think it is better to prepare 🙂

   Reply
   • Danielle says:

     September 7, 2014 at 6:27 am

     Hi Akos, yes protecting cells is very useful indeed! I don't think it's appropriate though for EVERY model, as it can get quite time consuming and also prone to error (Ever tried to edit a model where they have accidentally protected the cell you need to edit? Very annoying!). Most modellers will simply format the hard-coded values and formulas differently so that you can quickly see which cells you are supposed to edit and which you are not.
     If the model is going to be used by people who aren't very skilled though, I would definitely recommend using protection.

     Reply
     • Akos says:

       September 8, 2014 at 9:51 am

       You are right, we need to keep the profile and skill level of end users in mind (just remembering my own frustrations with over-protected sheet :)).

       Reply
2. Jmdias says:

   September 5, 2014 at 9:21 pm

   Hi Chandoo.

   What is the best way to get data from internet?

   I want to fill a form with a data from a website that gives me a TXT page like this page: http://www.greens.org/about/software/editor.txt

   I know this way:

   Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)
   If Sheets("sheet1").Range("a1").Value = False Then
   Range("xxxx").ClearComments
   Exit Sub
   End If

   If Not Intersect(Target, Range("xxxx")) Is Nothing Then
   If Target.Count > 1 Then Exit Sub
   ActiveWorkbook.Connections("Conexão").Delete
   Dim sName As Name

   For Each sName In ThisWorkbook.Names
   If InStr(1, sName, "xxxx") Then
   sName.Delete
   End If
   Next
   Sheets("xxxx").Range("a:a").ClearContents

   Dim url As String
   url = "URL;http://www.greens.org/about/software/editor.jsp?COD=" & Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(Cells(Target.Row, 3).Value, Plan1.Range("L2:M32"), 2, False) & "&CEP=" & Cells(Target.Row, 8).Value
   With Worksheets("xxxx").QueryTables.Add(Connection:=url, Destination:=Worksheets("comments").Range("A1"))
   .Name = "Conexion"
   .RowNumbers = False
   .FillAdjacentFormulas = False
   .PreserveFormatting = True
   .RefreshOnFileOpen = False
   .BackgroundQuery = False
   .RefreshStyle = xlOverwriteCells
   .SavePassword = False
   .SaveData = True
   .AdjustColumnWidth = True
   .RefreshPeriod = 0
   .WebSelectionType = xlEntirePage
   .WebFormatting = xlWebFormattingNone
   .WebPreFormattedTextToColumns = True
   .WebConsecutiveDelimitersAsOne = True
   .WebSingleBlockTextImport = False
   .WebDisableDateRecognition = False
   .WebDisableRedirections = False
   .Refresh BackgroundQuery:=False
   End With

   a = ""
   For i = 2 To Sheets("comments").Range("n1").Value
   a = a & Sheets("comments").Cells(i, 15).Value & Chr(10)
   Next i
   Range("xxxxxxx").ClearComments
   ActiveCell.AddComment
   ActiveCell.Comment.Visible = True
   ActiveCell.Comment.Text Text:=a
   ActiveCell.Comment.Shape.Width = Len(a) / 2 + 300
   ActiveCell.Comment.Shape.Height = Len(a) / 5 + 40
   Else
   Range("xxxx").ClearComments
   End If
   End Sub

   Reply
3. Mr Sumit says:

   September 15, 2014 at 5:27 pm

   Such a wonderfull tips..!! This article helps me in my project thanks for sharing this dude..!!

   Reply
4. Jesus says:

   September 17, 2014 at 8:36 pm

   Hi Danielle,

   I have already taken up Financial Modelling Course and I am not sure whether your book goes deep into Finance Modeling or it is just a book that cover the foundations.

   Thanks so much,

   Reply
   • Danielle Stein Fairhurst says:

     September 19, 2014 at 12:14 am

     Hi Jesus,
     The title of the book is "Using Excel for Business Analysis: a Guide to Financial Modelling Fundamentals", so it does cover the fundamentals of financial modelling, with a heavy emphasis on the Excel techniques critical for financial modellers to know. I hope that answers your question!
     Danielle.

     Reply
     • Jesus says:

       September 25, 2014 at 2:00 pm

       Yes it does I have just bought your book and I hope to enjoy it a lot.

       Thanks so much for your answer

       Reply
5. Mucio Batista says:

   September 17, 2014 at 10:22 pm

   Thank you and Danielle for sharing all this stuff!!! God bless you guys! You have no idea about how much you re helping people delivering this podcast!

   Reply
6. Podcast - Excel Tips for Best Practice Modelling | Plum Solutions says:

   February 15, 2018 at 12:53 am

   […] and a download sample Excel file of the tools and techniques that were discussed in the podcast.  Download the podcast.  Read the […]

   Reply

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