anevard
Posts: 109
Joined: 6/5/2006 Status: offline
|
Well I guess it's time for an update. Over the past few weeks I have spent some of my spare time modernizing and cleaning up some of the methodology behind the CellarMap Excel app. There are some good things and some not so good things that are a result of the changes I have been making. First to the significant changes. I am now using power query in the background to simplify the code required to implement some of the functionality. This will also simplify future additions to the app such as adding HeatMaps or any other form of analysis of our cellars. The downside is that now a data pull update from CellarTracker takes a bit longer. Another important change I have made is a complete reworking of the visual mapping methodology. I have implemented a completely new way of constructing the cellar visual map tabs. It is a bit more rudimentary than the original version BUT it will allow individual users to setup their own maps, rather than me having to do it. The issue is that it is still a bit of an arduous process, that is really only in an experimental phase, but I do think it is something that could be built on. I also have not really had any time to come up with a way explain the method to people so that they can do this on their own at this point. I have added some new filtering functionality that I think is pretty cool. I have also made each filter better reflect upon the dashboard visual charts. The downside is that, due to some inefficiencies in Excel (and probably a bit of my non professional programming skillset) some of these filters take quite a few seconds to process. It is important to understand that I am developing this only in the few minutes per week that I have free and when I am in the mood to chill in front of my computer after a long week of work. I am using the latest version of Excel 365 on a fairly powerful windows PC. It works fairly well, but I am sure it has numerous bugs at this point in its evolution. As well I am pretty sure it will have issues on other platforms and with other versions of Excel. Unfortunately I just don't have the time or skillset to try and make it work other than with the technology that I use everyday. I am not a professional programmer in any way, just a hobbyist. I hope you all understand. It really isn't ready for prime time at this point. I will keep trying to get it to a point where I can share it with the community, but I just wanted to let everyone that has expressed interest, know that hopefully sometime in the near future, it may be a tool you can use to help you keep on drinking good wine. Also, I am not doing this for any form of financial gain. I do it for the moments of meditation burying my mind in programming Excel and contemplating a good glass of wine. Cheers,
_____________________________
Andrew
|