I use Excel daily.

It's not all that configurable; most of it is frippery - colours, recalc, circular things, do your dates start from 1900 or 1904 (no, seriously, you can choose that) and because of MS's insistence on being backward compatible with both Excel and 1-2-3, there's a number of options to do with that. None of which are of much substance, taken in isolation.

Excel is inherently flexible.

Out of the box, and with no configuration whatsoever, it can be used for complex financial analysis, arbitrary data-shuffling, or balancing your chequebook.

ObExcelRant: Why bother configuring how the fuck many files are on the MRU? Why can I only have a maximum of 9? Why can't I have that list go as far down the screen as the menu will reach? What if I'm using more than 9 files and want to keep track of them? Cheers, Microsoft. I now get to use the utterly fucked up "history" option (in Windows) or the "fuck you, it doesn't exist" option (in OS X).

I had high hopes of this being fixed in the generally superior Mac version, but it's not.

And another thing, while I'm ranting about Office. Word's crap, right? Graphics handling, numbering, fields, all utter shite. However. Instead of fixing that, Microsoft decided that what we need is Sparkle Text. What the FUCK is that about?

And don't even get me started about Access.

Post #235,894 by pwhysall 11/24/05 2:10:10 PM Reply	I use Excel daily. It's not all that configurable; most of it is frippery - colours, recalc, circular things, do your dates start from 1900 or 1904 (no, seriously, you can choose that) and because of MS's insistence on being backward compatible with both Excel and 1-2-3, there's a number of options to do with that. None of which are of much substance, taken in isolation. Excel is inherently flexible. Out of the box, and with no configuration whatsoever, it can be used for complex financial analysis, arbitrary data-shuffling, or balancing your chequebook. ObExcelRant: Why bother configuring how the fuck many files are on the MRU? Why can I only have a maximum of 9? Why can't I have that list go as far down the screen as the menu will reach? What if I'm using more than 9 files and want to keep track of them? Cheers, Microsoft. I now get to use the utterly fucked up "history" option (in Windows) or the "fuck you, it doesn't exist" option (in OS X). I had high hopes of this being fixed in the generally superior Mac version, but it's not. And another thing, while I'm ranting about Office. Word's crap, right? Graphics handling, numbering, fields, all utter shite. However. Instead of fixing that, Microsoft decided that what we need is Sparkle Text. What the FUCK is that about? And don't even get me started about Access. Peter [link\|http://www.no2id.net/\|Don't Let The Terrorists Win] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home] Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
Post #235,896 by drewk 11/24/05 2:11:35 PM Reply	And why can't you do sparkle text and marching ants? === Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link\|http://DocHope.com\|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats]. [link\|http://DocHope.com\|http://DocHope.com]
Post #235,926 by static 11/24/05 6:59:24 PM Reply	That could mean Excel is a flawed example. More likely, it points out how 'configuration' (e.g. a cell's number format) has migrated towards 'functionality'. I have a simpler example. I develop and maintain a trouble-ticket system. Like most systems, tickets are able to be put into different categories for action by different groups of people. Is the job of adding new categories configuration? In a way, yes. But not really: most people who use it are unaware that adding or renaming a category is dead simple - there's actually a screen just for that. It might look like configuration, sure, but it's functionality. Wade. "Insert crowbar. Apply force."
Post #235,967 by pwhysall 11/25/05 1:26:46 AM Reply	Number format. That's part of the document. Not configuration. Peter [link\|http://www.no2id.net/\|Don't Let The Terrorists Win] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home] Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
Post #235,949 by boxley 11/24/05 9:51:56 PM Reply	you poor bastard "the reason people don't buy conspiracy theories is that they think conspiracy means everyone is on the same program. Thats not how it works. Everybody has a different program. They just all want the same guy dead. Socrates was a gadfly, but I bet he took time out to screw somebodies wife" Gus Vitelli Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 49 years. meep questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]

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