In January a friend asked me to assist with a small Excel assignment.
Her company wanted to add a Calendar control to a worksheet so that people could interactively select a date. I have never understood why people like this as nothing is quicker than typing a date as 7/4/14 and letting excel sort it out. But hey, that’s what the client wants.
The issue was that it had to work in every version of Excel from Excel 2002/XP to Excel 2013.
As anybody who has used the Calendar controls in Excel VBA Knows, they rarely work between versions and often require VBA references to be added/changed and DLL’s downloaded to make them work.
This model had to be able to be opened across all the Excel versions from Excel 2002/XP to Excel 13 and even transferred from one version to another regularly.
After struggling with the concept a while I threw away the Calendar Control idea and decided to plagiarise Chandoo’s 2014 Calendar.
Hui’s Chandoo’s Calendar Tool
Every year Chandoo releases a Yearly Calendar as a small gift to his readers. The 2014 calendar is available here.
It has all the facilities of a calendar using simple worksheet functions and Named Formula, and it doesn’t use VBA.
So, why not add a bit of generic VBA and use this as a Calendar selection tool?
The Process
Chandoo’s 2014 Calendar was stripped down to its absolute basic being 2 worksheets and a number of named Formulas which controlled the calculations.
The idea was to:
- Let the user to Select a cell, where they want to enter a date, It can be any cell on any worksheet.
- Press a Calendar Button or or Double Click on the cell and be taken to a Calendar.
- Select a date in the Calendar.
- Have a level of validation/acceptance of certain dates and rejection of other dates.
- Be taken back to the original worksheet and have the date placed into the original cell.
The calendar should pop up and be hidden by VBA code and shouldn’t require the user to know how to do that.
The Calendar had to have a level of user ability to modify the selection criteria and obviously the active year.
The calendar shouldn’t be reliant on any Addins, DLL’s or other external files.
Lets have a look at the components.
The Components
The following description and images use a sample file which you can Download here.
The File is compatible with all PC Excel versions but your screens may look slightly different in different versions, mostly colors are rendered slightly differently.
If you use a Mac Excel version, please let us know how this goes?
The Interface
The Interface is simple, You select a cell where you want to insert a date and press the Calendar Button or Double Click the cell:
The calendar Button uses some simple VBA to store the names of the worksheet and cell where the cursor was when the button was pressed and then opens the Calendar sheet by un-hiding it (making it visible) as per below:
The above image shows the calendar.
This user wanted to only allow Fridays or Saturdays to be selected and so they are manually colored Yellow.
If you select any non-yellow cell – Nothing happens
If you select any yellow cell – That date is returned to your original location
Click on the Year and change it to another value to change years
Selecting the Close button closes the calendar and returns you to your original location with no changes.
You can change the Dates that are allowable to be selectable by either changing the VBA or Selecting Multiple cells and coloring as appropriate.
The Calendar
This Calendar tool in it’s most basic format consists of three Worksheets My Worksheet, Calendar and Mini
My Worksheet is a worksheet where I want to use the date and do my work
Mini is a Row by Row version of the calendar, it remains hidden at all times but it is busy in the background calculating the dates
Calendar is simply a display of the Mini Data in a convenient 12 Month layout
The Calendar worksheet is where the user can select a Date. If the date is Valid (Yellow), the user selected date is returned to the original worksheet and cell, otherwise the user remains on the Calendar worksheet
The relationship between the Mini and Calendar is all handled by Named Formula which the user doesn’t need to worry about
The VBA
My Worksheet
My Worksheet is a user area where the user is doing his work.
The user can invoke the Calendar Tool in two ways
- Select any Cell and press the Calendar Button; or
- Select any Cell and double click it
If the user uses method 1, pressing the calendar Button calls the Show_Calendar subroutine
If the user uses method 2, Double clicking a cell, the Worksheet_BeforeDoubleClick() event is triggered on the My Worksheet VBA Code Module
The Worksheet_BeforeDoubleClick() event simply calls the Show_Calendar subroutine
Private Sub Worksheet_BeforeDoubleClick(ByVal Target As Range, Cancel As Boolean)
Show_Calendar
End Sub
The Show_Calendar() subroutine in the Calendar_Modules VBA code module subroutine has 2 tasks to perform:
The 2 tasks are to store the location of the cell that the user wants the date in. It is stored in two variables mySht and myRng
These two variables are defined outside the Show_Calendar() subroutine and are declared as Public
This means they are available to all subroutines in the workbook.
Public mySht As String
Public myRng As String
Sub Show_Calendar()
mysht = ActiveSheet.Name
myRng = ActiveCell.Address
Sheets("Calendar").Visible = True
Sheets("Calendar").Select
End Sub
Calendar
Once on the Calendar two subroutines control the users interaction.
The Worksheet_SelectionChange() and Close_Calendar() subroutines control the users interactions as described below:
The main interaction is controlled by a Worksheet_SelectionChange() event in the calendar Worksheet VBA Code module.
Put simply it monitors when a selection changes and reacts accordingly
If a user selects multiple cells it is ignored
If a user selects a non-Yellow cell it is ignored
If a user selects a Yellow cell the subroutine sets the original users cell to the value of the selected date and formats the cell as appropriate
Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)
If Target.Cells.Count <> 1 Then Exit Sub
If Target.Interior.Color = 65535 Then 'Set Cell Color requirement here
Sheets(mysht).Range(myRng) = Target
With Sheets(mysht).Range(myRng)
.NumberFormat = "m/d/yyyy" 'Set cells Date format here
.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenter
.VerticalAlignment = xlCenter
End With
Sheets("Calendar").Visible = False
Sheets(mysht).Select
End If
End Sub
The Close_Calendar() subroutine is called when the Close Button is selected
It simply hides the Calendar Worksheet and returns the user to the Original worksheet he was working on
Sub Close_Calendar()
Sheets("Calendar").Visible = False Sheets(mysht).Select \
End Sub
If you want to enable a user to select any date you can either
1. Set all valid dates to have a color Yellow
2. Remove the date checking section of the code. Comment out the two Lines colored in Red Below:
Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)
If Target.Cells.Count <> 1 Then Exit Sub
'If Target.Interior.Color = 65535 Then 'Set Cell Color requirement here
Sheets(mysht).Range(myRng) = Target
With Sheets(mysht).Range(myRng)
.NumberFormat = "m/d/yyyy" 'Set cells Date format here
.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenter
.VerticalAlignment = xlCenter
End With
Sheets("Calendar").Visible = False
Sheets(mysht).Select
'End If
End Sub
The Final Product
Other Calendar Posts
Chandoo has written a number of posts on calendars, some are shown below:
http://chandoo.org/wp/2013/11/13/pop-up-calendar-excel-vba/
http://chandoo.org/wp/2012/09/12/interactive-pivot-calendar/
http://chandoo.org/wp/tag/printable-calendar/
Conclusion
This workbook has been tested in all versions of PC versions of Excel from 2002 to 2013 and it works a treat.
It is an Excel XLS file and runs in compatibility mode in Excel 2007+
You are free to use and extend it as required.
36 Responses to “Visualizing Financial Metrics – 30 Alternatives”
Although I am one of the contestants, I must wholeheartedly admit that the Dashboard of Chandeep is the best of all. It's design, colors, message-conveying is the greatest. My regards!
I would like to learn how Chandeep highlighted the graph when he made a selection on the slicer.
Any links to previous posts perhaps where this was covered by Chandoo?
Thank You
Ahmad
Dashboard from Abhay simply rocks. To the point and conveys the intended message even for a novice.
Infographic by Pinank - is looking good
I have also contributed to this contest. I am really inspired by various entries in above post. Based on following parameters i would like to rate these:
1. Explanatory - Whether dashboard will be used to explain certain thing or mention a story. This type of dashboard will be static.
2. Exploratory - Here user would like to interact more with the dashboard to extract the relevant story or meaning which is not apparent. Hence, this type dashboard needs to have more interactivity.
3. Scalability - If new or more data can be added to dashboard and still the functionality will work. If user wants to add more companies, years, etc. will it work.
Based on above criteria I would rate following entries as top ones:
1. Explanatory - by Pinank
2. Exploratory - by Chandeep
3. Scalability - In most of the entries additional work would be required to include more data except for mine. new years or companies can be easily added and analysed in chart by me.
These entries are really inspiring i will definitely use it to revise my dashboard.
Abhay's dashboard is good however, if Chandeep can go with the trend analysis Abhay has done (line graphs), then maybe Chandeep's dashboard can excel.
And now I'm angry that I haven't noticed contest announcement earlier and I've sent what I've sent... Building a dashoboard was supposed to be my goal but lack of time forced me to sent sth simplier and now I can see how big mistake it was (when it comes to fighting a competition like this). Nice work guys! It's realy inspiring! Even less advanced works are intresting because of different task approach. So wance again: thanks 🙂
If I had to choose the best ones (IMHO) I would go for William and Edouard as a second place (for both). Despite some weak sides (like label errors or "work place" next to a final chart) they meet my sense of clear data visualisation and contain intresting interactive elements.
The best entry is definitly Chandeep's. Although there was some failing with automatical comenting feature (#arg! in my Excel'10) it's full of advanced dashboarding tricks which makes it easy to read. Furthermore, as one of the few he finished(?) his project - it opens in a "secured mode", with no place to mess anything, no data trash - just choose, point and read/print.
It all deserves to get the Grand Prize!
and BTW: when can we expect another contest? 🙂
Big round of applause to everyone who participated. I'm amazed at the creativity of our community. 🙂
My vote would be for Chandeep, MF Wong, and Miguel.
I have not contributed, but have read this post with a lot of interest. I would like to congratulate all participants for there work & inventiveness.
My #1 spot goes to Gerald for showing all the data in 1 graph & to have still kept it simple & readable.
I would give a prize for innovation to Pinank for the use of icons.
Great to see so much creativity.
I have not contributed also, but have wait his post for a long time (because I have the same kind of issue in my "daily life").
My top 3 is the following :
- Pinank for the effeiciency and for the style
- Arnaud for the calculation behind the chart
- Miguel for the elegant business oriented dashboard
All the entries look very good. However I feel Pinanks entry seems the best as it is very explanatory with good innovative thoughts.
Hi all,
Some brilliant dashboard and interactive entries - really nice stuff and lots of clever tricks.
However, given that the initial question was "Need to quickly visualize 3 variables ( Company, years, Financials) in a single […] chart", unfortunately I don't think any dashboards - as cool as they are - really answer that question. The interactives also assume that this will be opened in Excel rather than seen in a printed hand-out, which essentially means you'd need multiple charts to show all the variables or be limited to a computer screen. Even Chandoo's initial panel chart approach - which is static, and also very simple and clean - is not really a 'single chart'. Furthermore, most of the interactives don't actually show all variables at once but rather slice the data into more manageable chunks, which is not staying true to the original brief.
So, in light of the above, I'd vote for Gerald in first place, Edwin in second and finally my third chart option in third place (yes, I know, voting for yourself is poor form but unfortunately I think the original question disqualifies most of the entries).
Anyway, a fun competition and thanks for following up on this Chandoo.
I am once again in awe of the submittals to a Chandoo contest. The results are so impressive. I have been trying to build nice dashboards for years and take so many courses, but I don't seem to have the eye for design. The color choices, fonts and chart choices are so important and I'm amazed at how some people really have a great talent for making the best selections.
It's nice to have such quality inspiration!
I saw Chandeep's entry on his website and I must say that I was very impressed by it. Simply loved it. Somewhat makes it difficult to keep an open mind towards the other entries.
My ranking:
1. Chandeep for its completeness as dashboard.
2. MF Wong/Miguel for "simple" but smart graphs.
3. Pinank's entry looks like a page from a glossy magazine.
During scrolling I stopped at Chirayu's entry: easy to the eye.
But honestly congrats too all for having the balls to participate and thank you for sharing your creativity!! Hat's off to you.
Miguel, MF Wong, and Pinank.
Thanks to Chandoo and everyone who contributed for the great ideas.
Hi,
I personally liked the dashboard of:
1. Chandeep - His dashboard is clear, crisp and informative, his color combination and design is awesome, also he has shared few details like operating leverage plus he has added few comments. In totality, its a complete packaged dashboard.
2. Miguel - His dashboard is simple and all the information is visible in one shot.
It's very interesting looking through these - you can definitely tell who's done courses in dashboard design and with whom!
I particularly liked Pawels 'sperm chart' 😉 ... squint your eyes - you'll see what I mean). each of the charts or dashboards are put together well - but I agree with Elchin on this one - Chandeeps dashboard set 'tells a story' of the data. Student of Mr Few??
Without a doubt, Chandeep deserves #1. #2 goes to Abhay, and #3 to Pinhank, for the great presentation style if nothing else.
MF Wong
Do not apologize for any delay! Moving from one town to the next only 10 miles away is tough enough - let alone a family moving from one country to another!
THANK YOU for this excellent post!
As one of the participants, I have been looking forward to this post for long. But totally understood the reason of delay, so never mind! Hope all is well in NZ.
Thank you very much to those who like my chart! 🙂
Also thanks Chandoo for suggesting a name for it "Container Chart", which I have never thought about.
Personally I like the infographic by Pinank. Very outstanding design and use of icons. My two-cent worth: Just the lower part of "Yearly Trend" is actually good enough to answer the question, isn't it? 😉
Cheers,
What an outburst of creativity!
Vote for Chandeep and Pinank!
Agreed!
Awesome dashboards
Infographic by Pinank is awesome
Thank you so much for sharing!! i learn so much from these posts
Highly appreciated
Ahmad
South Africa
Fantastic responses from all the contestants. Some really great ideas. I'm inspired and will adapt some of these to my own dashboard work. Thanks for hosting such a great contest!!
Thank you for sharing this valuable resources !!!
I have only a couple of question that wasn't able to solve regarding data-origin.
Nowadays I have the data coming from a "current" situation from a big database containing all kind purchase-orders information of many different projects. I can calculate the current status of each project investments, but I am not able to track automatically the progress of it month to month or week to week by freezing the calculated metrics on each date. This would let me calculate new graphs and the speed of investments execution.
My question would be, if it is possible to calculate something with an excel formula and automatically freeze this values in a new row or new column. I guess that right now, Basic is the only way, but I guess that there could be a function to copy-a-range, insert-range-as-value-only as a new row or a new column or display everything down or left.
This would preserve the excel formulas defined, and add new data, everytime that it is re-calculated.
Any idea?
Great post , loved all chart representation. Congratulations to all participants and winners.
I need updates to this article.
I didn't even realize this got posted. Came across it today. Thanks
Fantastic post but I was wondering if you could write
a litte more on this subject? I'd be very thankful if you could elaborate a
little bit further. Thank you!
Hi Chandoo,
I comeback after a long time on your Blog. So I saw it lately. Its a brilliant idea.
I like all entries and these are amazing efforts from all participants.
Regards
The report presented by Pinanik is excellent and very innovative. Could be an interesting work for portfolio presentation