Question

Converting Macros from Excel to Open Office Calc

Asked by: ja385

I would like to find an alternative spreadsheet program to Excel that can use my existing Excel spreadsheets, including the macros I have built into my existing spreadsheets.  I find the Open Office.org is not able to open and run these macros on the Excel spreadsheets.  Is there an easy way to convert the macros, or do I have to learn how to write macros in Open Office and redo them all?  

Is there a better alternative than Open Office or StarOffice,(which seem to be the same to an end-user like me)?  I use two main macros.
1. A Macro that automatically converts dates entered as 020508 into 02/05/08 in the cell.  Without the macro, Excel converts it into some strange and random dates.
2. I have several"button" macros on a page containing multiple spreadsheets, that will print just the desired spreadsheet from the large page containing multiple spreadsheets.
Thank you.

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2008-02-16 at 14:01:45ID23168870
Tags

Open Office Calc

Topics

Spreadsheet Software

,

Microsoft Office Suite

,

Access Coding/Macros

Participating Experts
2
Points
500
Comments
3

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Error in Macro that randomizes
    I know nothing about macros. I got this one from a solution here on EE, but when I try it, it comes back with errors: "Compile Error - Label not defined" and "On Error GoTo SheetRename" is highlighted. _______________ paste ___________________ Sub BGRan...
  2. Executing macros in other spreadsheets
    Is it possible to develop a macro that executes different macros in different spreadheets example Spreadhsheet 1 contains macro called status and pastespecial Spreadhseet 2 contains the macro orders and pastespecial Spreadhseet 3 contains the macro delivery and pastespeci...
  3. Macros
    Hello Experts, I have an excel spreadsheet that contains macros. It there is no record to be put in one of the columns, I want to input zero in each cells of the empty column. Can you please write a simple code in Vb that does solve this problem. You can pick any column you ...
  4. macro with random row
    let say i have data in column A, i need to have a macro that if A have value, then set column B value as 'F'. but how many row in column A is random.
  5. OpenOffice Calc Macro
    I have the following macro for Calc in OpenOffice 3. It converts the open document to csv, and saves the document. I need to edit this macro so that it saves the file as the original filename with the csv extension. So if I open a file called hello.xls, the macro saves the...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: boag2000Posted on 2008-02-17 at 06:07:25ID: 20914028

ja385,

Are you looking for something that is free?
AFAIK Open Office and star are you only options.

Try
Corel
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Product/1152105038419
or
Lotus 123
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/lotus/products/123/
or
ThinkFree
http://product.thinkfree.com/desktop/

I don't know of any program that will "convert" Excel macros to any other spreadsheet program.

Can I ask why you must move away from Excel?

Your macros sound fairly straightforward, and should be easy to duplicate with another product that supports some type of Programmming/Automation.

Hope this helps

JeffCoachman

 

by: geneusPosted on 2008-02-17 at 06:10:38ID: 20914032

Q: Is there an easy way to convert the macros, or do I have to learn how to write macros in Open Office and redo them all?  
A: Bad News: You will have to recreate your macros.  
     Reason: Excel VBA uses the Excel Object Model which is specific to Excel.
     Good News:  You should be able to take your current macro structure as a starting point and change it to reflect the Oo object model.

Q: Is there a better alternative than Open Office or StarOffice,(which seem to be the same to an end-user like me)?  
A: Open Office is the more accepted alternative.  Another alternative is Gnumeric, which I am not very familiar with using (http://www.gnome.org/projects/gnumeric/).
As with any application, different users have different experiences based on use and need.  I personally like Excel, Word, and Powerpoint beyond the alternatives.


Here are some references that may help you:
http://downloads.sourceforge.net/ooomacros/AndrewMacro_2006-01-25.zip?modtime=1138358201&big_mirror=0
http://api.openoffice.org/DevelopersGuide/DevelopersGuide.html
http://www.pitonyak.org/oo.php

 

by: ja385Posted on 2008-02-17 at 12:02:25ID: 31431641

Thank you both for helping me understand my options regarding macro compatability across spreadsheet brands.  Apparently Novel makes a version of OOO that uses Excels VBA and is compatible.  Someone on a Google Group dropped that info on me today too.  I am checking that out before making a final decision.  If cross brand macro compatability is  not  easily and inexpensivly attainable, I think I will have to bite the bullet and pay Microsoft for the 6 copies of Office I will need to run in the 6 retail shops I am opening.  Since these two spreadsheets are about all we need Excel for, I had hoped to find a less expensive alternative that didn't require me to relearn and redo my macros. (The date macro I found on line years ago, and could never have figured out myself)   Thanks so much for your info and thoughts.  Best Regards, Jim

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...