FAO Andy Pope please...

[Dave Baxter]

Hi Andy.

re your polar plot utility.

I've tried to contact you recently, but our mail system doesnt seem to
like the .info email address.

A question if I may.

How the "bleeeep" do I get your ploar plot tool to automaticaly update
when the source data changes?

The only way I can find to make the new data change the plot graph, is
to remove and re-do the polar plot.

It's been a (very) long time since I had to work in Excel (can't say I'm
enjoying it!) I have messed with VBA macro's to the extreeme in the
past, but the so called "simple" stuff excapes me at times.

Sadly I'm stuck with Excel 2000, we don't have (it seems) licences for
anything newer!

Tin hat and flame proof suit on, car door open, engine running...

Regards.

Dave B.

 

[Andy Pope]

Hi,

The addin does not create dynamic formula to the source data.

You do not need to re-create the chart just select the chart, click the
Polar plot menu and the settings will be reloaded.
Press Ok and the values will update.

You can also do it by using trigonometry formula to calculate the new xy
position based on the Angle and Distance.

Cheers
Andy

 

[Dave Baxter]

Hi,

Thanks Andy for the reply...

The addin does not create dynamic formula to the source data.

Hmmm... Ok...

You do not need to re-create the chart just select the chart, click the
Polar plot menu and the settings will be reloaded.
Press Ok and the values will update.

Selecting the existing chart, but with new data in the source sheet, and
then Going to the Polar Plot menu (Tools, Polar Plot) and then hitting
OK, made the entire existing chart vanish! But not the Polar Plot
Menu/dialog!

You can also do it by using trigonometry formula to calculate the new xy
position based on the Angle and Distance.

If I have to do that, I'll write a native .exe to do it all. That is
what I'm trying to avoid (not my area of expertise) but the time taken
getting nowhere so far over the last few weeks, I could have done the
..exe by now from the ground up.

However... There are other licensing issues that are preventing me from
going that route at the moment. (No one want's to spend any money on
proprieary SW crafting tools, where have you heard that before!)

Cheers
Andy

Idealy, I need to replicate what you have in one of your worked examples
shown on your website, but with live/dynamic data. Well, just hit one
button and it does whats needed with little to no other user input as a
minimum...

Dynamic, as in the number of data points will change for each
measurement run, sometimes not even a full 360' of measuring will be
done. But, the absolute angle value will be true in each case.

If your otherwise excelent tool is not able to do that without a lot of
work, just say so, and I'll not bother you again, but go bug one of the
accountants that forced us down this route, to cough up some more
readies, so we can do it the hard(er) way...


Not getting at you Andy in any way, far from it, thanks for the time to
read and reply etc. I do appreciate it.

Cheers.

Dave B.
Dazed, confused n frustrated with all this.

PS: This is just one of my Excel anoyances. Another long standing
one, is it's inability to use Log axis that don't start/end on decade
boundaries. If the likes of HP, Marconi, Tek, etc can do it with tiny
processors, why cant MS when let loose with GB of Ram and multi core
CPU's with inbuilt floating point capabilities.

Is Open Office any better for "Engineering" needs I wonder?

 

[Andy Pope]

Hi,

I just did a test, with Angle data in A2:A10 and distance in B2:B10, using
xl2000 with a problem.

calculated X value for data in A2:B10 would be
=COS(RADIANS(A2))*B2

calculated Y values would be
=SIN(RADIANS(A2))*B2

Plot x and y values.

I would have thought if you could write an .exe modifying the vba would be a
straight forward

Cheers
Andy

 

[Dave Baxter]

Hi,

I just did a test, with Angle data in A2:A10 and distance in B2:B10, using
xl2000 with a problem.

calculated X value for data in A2:B10 would be
=COS(RADIANS(A2))*B2

calculated Y values would be
=SIN(RADIANS(A2))*B2

Plot x and y values.

I would have thought if you could write an .exe modifying the vba would be a
straight forward

Cheers
Andy

Hi Andy...

"I just did a test, with Angle data in A2:A10 and distance in B2:B10,
using xl2000 with a problem." I presume you mean "without a problem".

Yes, I can do that just fine. But if you change the "data" (distance as
you call it, and or the angle) by changing a common coeficient in the
formula that creates the data, manual intervention is needed to update
the chart plot, and at the moment, going to "Tools, Polar Plot" and then
OK, makes the chart vanish, never to return!

As you probably know, modyfying someone else's code, is rarely a trivial
task. Coupled with the fact that it's "been a while" since I messed
with VBA, and we all have our own coding styles.

Since then I've spent a lot of time with Delphi, and a lesser extent
with some dodgey C/C++ compilers.

Call it a draw for now Andy, I like your Polar Plot tool, but at the
moment it doesnt do what I need, the way I need it, & not all of that is
I think down to your code, but probably as much to the antiqe Excel 2k I
have to use. I also notice there are subtle differences in it's
behaviour, if I am connected to the office server, or not. Hmmm...

Turns out too, after discussing this with the sales types upstairs, that
the prospective user is "dithering" about committing to the order now!

I think I can best use my time doing something else.

Thanks for the time/bandwidth Andy.

Dave B.