Excel Developer Version Solutions - are there any?

[FallingRock]

Easy Solutions.
I have been developing and selling Excel-based scientific data analysis
software since Excel 95. I initially shipped my software in Excel 97. Excel
2002 introduced bogus format error dialog boxes upon opening the Excel 97
template so I converted the software to an Excel 2002 format. Now I ship two
versions (97 and 2002) with every order to cover the span of six possible
versions (95-2007) users may be running.

Update Headaches!
It is time to update my main software to add some new code and statistical
functions and other features. As an aside, I had to do a project for a client
running Excel 2002. In the process I noticed how this version manages
worksheet control properties differently from other versions. Good thing I
have books on all versions to date. But what a chore to research the impact
of MS' endless fiddling as illustrated by the topics in this forum. I
mentioned that an an example of the type of problems I now expect to face if
I proceed to update and modify by standard software. Am I faced with making 5
versions to accomdate the endless MS changes? Will users of my software find
it impossible to share workbooks across different versions? Will I have to
dumb down new features to fit Excel 97? Will I have to dig up my old Excel 97
(shipped as a set of 3.5" floppy disks) and install it on a cheap computer to
make my update with? I've got 7 computers in mothballs, enough to test all
Microsoft's ingenious version progression. But will a 1995 Dell still work?
And 7% of my sales are to Mac Office users.

If you see my dilema, Excel version hell is giving me second thoughts about
improving and upgrading my main Excel software program which is used in 67
countries at last pivot.

Better Solutions?
So my questions is: What solutions/suggestions/resources can you offer
regarding keeping Excel software updated and deployable within the mass of
versions available? Surely others face this problem perpetually (for example
J-Walk with PUP, ASAP Utilities, and the wide world of Excel MPV's and other
Excel product developers.

Any suggestion would be welcome. Some things I have consdered are running
all versions of Excel on one computer for development and testing. Find out
if Excel 2007 allows for a broader range of saving *xtl files in older
versions. Dumming down new features to maintain identical copies available in
97 and 2002 versions only (forever).

Watch for FallingRock and thanks in advance.

(Although Gates can resell his products through endless version upgrades, I
can't.)

 

[Charles Williams]

I currently support Excel 97 through Excel 2007 (but not Mac: too many
windows api calls) with a single version of FastExcel.
I have all these versions of Excel installed on a system in different
directories.

The simplest rule is to develop using the oldest version you want to support
and then test on the newer versions.
If you want to exploit VB6 things like modeless userforms you can putting
the .SHOW in a separate sub that gets called dependent on version. If you
want to exploit object model differences then you can usually handle this
just by checking the application.version.
I have only had serious compatibility problems with Excel 2007: it took me
probably about two weeks to test and to code around them.

Charles
_________________________________________
UK Cambridge XL Users Conference 29-30 Nov
http://www.exceluserconference.com/UKEUC.html

 

[Jon Peltier]

In general, the compatibility issues with 2007, at least in the worksheet
and in the VBA, are pretty minor (nonetheless frustrating). Changing the
user interface that worked consistently and well in Excel 97 through 2003
took a bit of time, however. I'd say take the estimate for working on
compatibility issues and add the same time and effort for dealing with the
ribbon. Good thing so many people have worked on it and posted their best
solutions. Google is my copilot.

- Jon

 

[FallingRock]

Thanks Charles and Jon - it is great to have replys from people with your
reputations!.

All replys help and give me insight and ideas from other people's
strategies. My originating question was a bit too verbose. Let me put it
more succintly this way:

If you sold a couple of Excel products world wide via the internet and your
buyers used every possible version of Excel: (1) Which version or versions of
Excel would you provide so that every customer got the same usable product as
advertized regardless of the version of Excel they were running? (2) What
strategy would you use to uprade your product for future sales as well as
distibution to current clients?
(3) What Excel version would you use for your product development purposes?

FallingRock - http://www.SummitPK.com

 

[Jon Peltier]

(1) I ignore MacExcel and Excel 97, and I don't worry much about 2007. Mac
users make up something like 2% of the visitors to my web site; various
(mostly anecdotal) evidence puts Excel 97 and earlier users somewhere in the
single digits; and again, anecdotal evidence suggests that the vast majority
of serious Excel users don't rely on 2007 other than to putter around.

Most of the programs I distribute are targeted at the version of Excel that
the client has, or at Excel 2000. Lately I've built an Excel 2000-Excel 2007
system that has all the code in an Excel 2000 add-in (including commandbar
and menu customizations). When opened in 2007, the add-in skips the
commandbar/menu stuff, and opens an Excel 2007 add-in that has the purpose
of constructing ribbon user interface elements and redirecting the user's
ribbon clicks to the appropriate procedure in the Excel 2000 add-in.

(2) For upgrading to 2007, I will rely on the use of a second add-in as
above to handle the new UI system. If the program does not need a version
compatible with pre-2007, then it's all lumped into a single Excel 2007
add-in.

(3) I do most of my work in 2003, but I test against earlier and sometimes
later versions. I should develop in 2000, but I've found 2003 to be more
robust, and it has a few nice UI features of its own.

- Jon

 

[Mike Middleton]

FallingRock -

I have three commercial add-ins. Each single-file add-in works on Windows
Excel 97-2007 and Mac Excel X and 2004. Each add-in detects Windows vs. Mac
and modifies some dialog boxes appropriately.

I develop on Excel 97 SR2, and I test on (almost) all subsequent versions on
both OS platforms.

- Mike Middleton
http://www.DecisionToolworks.com
Decision Analysis Add-ins for Excel

 

[Chip Pearson]

(1) Which version or versions of
Excel would you provide so that every customer got the same usable product
as
advertized regardless of the version of Excel they were running?

I would bite the bullet and inform clients in the future that they must be
using at least Excel 2000. I recently dropped all support for 97 and
earlier. The vast majority of my clients are on 2002 or 2003 and I develop
only for Excel 2002 and later. There really isn't any way to have a single
code base and support a reasonably complicated UI for both <=2003 and 2007.
Either you need to versions for the UI or you have to live with the poor UI
that 2007 provides for 2003 type UI controls.

(3) What Excel version would you use for your product development
purposes?

I develop in 2003 and then test in 2002, 2003, and 2007.



--
Cordially,
Chip Pearson
Microsoft MVP - Excel, 10 Years
Pearson Software Consulting
www.cpearson.com
(email on the web site)