Excel 2008 crashes, generally infuriating

[Irksome]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I have decided to release some anger about Excel 2008 here...

I often make figures with large datasets. This sorry excuse for a program is a shadow of its former self and I have not yet been able to bend it to my needs.

Any modification to a figure via the toolbox brings the pinwheel up for minutes at a time. I do not need shadows and gradients on every damned chart. I can depend on the program to crash at least once a day. Btw, my macbook pro has respectable components and can handle most anything else without complaint.

Any hints on how I can improve the utility of Excel 2008? Any suggestions on alternative graphing software?

 

[Bob Greenblatt]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I have decided to release some anger about Excel 2008 here...

I often make figures with large datasets. This sorry excuse for a program is a
shadow of its former self and I have not yet been able to bend it to my needs.

Any modification to a figure via the toolbox brings the pinwheel up for
minutes at a time. I do not need shadows and gradients on every damned chart.
I can depend on the program to crash at least once a day. Btw, my macbook pro
has respectable components and can handle most anything else without
complaint.

Any hints on how I can improve the utility of Excel 2008? Any suggestions on
alternative graphing software?

Are you using page layout view? If so try with normal view? Do you have HP
printer drivers?

 

[John McGhie]

Save your file as .XLSB instead of .XLSX.

It is a compressed binary format that Excel 2008 can read a lot quicker than
it can read .xlsx. It should give you better performance than .xls did in
Excel 2004.

Cheers

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I have decided to release some anger about Excel 2008 here...

I often make figures with large datasets. This sorry excuse for a program is a
shadow of its former self and I have not yet been able to bend it to my needs.

Any modification to a figure via the toolbox brings the pinwheel up for
minutes at a time. I do not need shadows and gradients on every damned chart.
I can depend on the program to crash at least once a day. Btw, my macbook pro
has respectable components and can handle most anything else without
complaint.

Any hints on how I can improve the utility of Excel 2008? Any suggestions on
alternative graphing software?

--

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]