EX4 - Spreadsheets With Advanced Graphics

Below are a number of screen prints from spreadsheets that exploit Excel's extreme graphics capability:

Industrial Process Control Summary Information

true north usa - Material Balance Reporting System - Chemical Manufacturing Complex

Multi-Monitor Industrial Process Control Summary Information (same as above but 2X wide)

true north usa - Material Balance Reporting System - Chemical Manufacturing Complex

3D Process Control Data and Graphics Details

true north usa - Material Effciency and Accountability System - Chemical Manufacturing Complex

User Help For Publishing To Web Intranet

true north usa Intranet Data Collection System - User Help Application

Internet Portal In Service Management Application

true north usa - Embedded Web Portal - ProPak ProCare Project

Flexible Pivot Table Reporting

true north usa - Flexible Reporting System - ProPak ProCare Project

Mathematical Modeling

This screen print does not show up well here because of it's fine detail and the need to compress these pictures for the webpage. When actually viewing this in Excel, it is breathtaking. It showcases Excel's high speed abilty to generate complex 3 dimensional like images using simple XY charts.


true north usa presentation - 2003 18th Annual AIME/FIPR Regional Conference- Lakeland, Florida

Mathematical Modeling 2

A sister slide to the one above. Excel logs the model results to an external database at over 2000 records a second.


true north usa presentation - 2003 18th Annual AIME/FIPR Regional Conference - Lakeland, Florida

Multi Line Transaction Editor

true north usa - Multi Line Work Order Editor - ProPak ProCare Project

School District - Financial Feasibility Budget Model -App Navigation Map

true north usa - Financial Feasibility Model - LWCS Project

Web-Interactive Stock Selection Model

true north usa - Dual Monitor Screen Print - IBD Stock Selection Model

 

Triple Monitor Spreadsheets

Unfortunately, not a lot of folks yet have three or more monitors. But when you do, the results can be dramatic.

Not all worksheets in your workbook will  require three monitors. When they do you fill them with data ....see second pic below, but when they don't you can open things up and fill the worksheet with dramatic visual effects like the one just below. Yes, these are each single worksheets!

The data in the cells below and the graphic chart is actually being imported to Excel live from the World Wide Web.
This is a slight bump up from the beautiful old ticker tape machine shown as a contrasting ornament on the worksheet!!!

Triple Monitor Screen Print : Web Interactive Stock Selection and Modeling Tool- Web Query of Two of Eight Major Model Selection Groups

Triple Monitor Screen Print : Web Interactive Stock Selection and Modeling Tool- Database Query of Modeling Results 

Engineering Systems -Two Phase Flow Flash Simulation Model

true north usa - Reacting Systems - Two Phase Flow Flash Simulations - S. Richter Project
Correlation Options Control
Shown This Slide - Propylene

Engineering Systems - Two Phase Flow Flash Simulation Model
Thermodynamic Property Curve Fitting

true north usa - Reacting Systems - Two Phase Flow Flash Simulations - S. Richter Project
Curve Fitting Tool For Thermodynamic Properties
Shown This Slide - Specific Volume Vs. Temp - Propylene

Ed Presents

" Unlike most people, I give my presentations entirely in Excel."

See below, some really interesting Excel worksheets. These are excerpts from "slides" (Excel Worksheets!!)prepared for Ed's presentation at the:

Annual 2003 American Institute Of Chemical Engineers Convention in Clearwater Beach , Florida

true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

Don't believe these are Excel spreadsheets ???

See the same slide below with Excel's gridlines turned on.



true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida













































true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

Breaking the bad news to all non - Excel attendees.

There was only 1 person in the entire audience - A Quatro Pro User - you just gotta love a guy like that!

true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

The reason for giving the presentation.

true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

Setting the stage

Ed's Grandfather's slide rule circa 1915

true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

Ed's slide rule when he was in college. Note both hardware and software

"It is missing a picture of my CRC Math Tables book (more significant figures), my mechanical pencil, rubber eraser, and semi log chart paper, etc. Also notice the total lack of cables, adapters, surge protectors, a/c converters, UPC's, hubs, routers, access points, etc. Life was so much simpler then . You could actually put stuff under your desk when you needed to!"


true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

The first big blip on the radar screen.

Ed shared one of these with his office mate for several years after graduation and was very glad to do so.

true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

Hello Houston

Ed's oldest son had one of these at the age of 8! He is now a grown man (a mechanical engineer). He assisted Ed in this presentation which was given on Father's Day weekend 2003. Thanks Edward (:)}

true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

From a "wood stick" to this in just 30 years - "Heaven on Earth" !!!!

If you don't think we are experiencing an exponential evolution/revolution in personal tools available to engineers, scientists, and other professionals then just consider the slide below and contrast it to the last four. Imagine where we might be in another thirty years!!!

Most working professionals today are absorbing this increase at a low slope linear rate. This is causing a very serious problem as well as a huge opportunity. The gap is increasing exponentially! The professions have not yet come to grips with this reality.

Today's average professional is satisfied with their personal software/hardware upgrade when it does everything he or she needs to do. One of the problems is the definition of what "he or she needs to do" has not changed much over the last thirty years !!!! Ed attempted to hammer them a little on this point!!!


true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

Multi monitor presentations get expensive

They are also technically challenging. At this meeting Ed showed them a three monitor desktop up close, but had only two projectors with him. Therefore, they only got a dual mon big screen demo.

true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

The amazing untapped duo!

true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

The VBA expansion factor.

A slide depicting the tremendous leverage available to VBA users who master OLE, ADO, DOA, etc. Again, this slide was done in Excel using Excel's standard shape collection (A Visio spinoff).

true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

The business world and academia

The business world and academia are being overtaken by these huge Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) monsters. The business areas with small red dots are those that most often integrate with today's engineering activities.

true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

Again, if anyone should be using multi-monitor desktops, it is certainly Chemical Engineers.

Ed attempted to make them aware of the huge revolution uderway with respect to the visual interface.

This is a screen print of his own office desktop. Ed says he could never go back to one display!



true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

This is a tri-mon screen print showing a massive spreadsheet

used to filter stock data downloaded from the www via Excel's web query capability and other OLE magic.


true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

This is a screen print showing three of Ed's eight possible desktop configurations.

true north usa presentation - 2003 AIChE Convention - Clearwater Beach, Florida

Presentation Teleprompter - Automation Solves Another Problem

Ed describes this tool

"This is an interesting slide, and brings to light an interesting and fun weekend project for those who find themselves making frequent presentations of Excel results to large groups of fellow business associates or researchers.

Even at this stage in life, I am still not completely comfortable giving presentations in front of large audiences. Many times when I do present, the presentations are challenging. This is mainly because I have complex applications on my laptop for demonstration, and they must be incorporated seamlessly into an overall slide presentation like the one above.

There is a lot to keep track of and control. I also have a tendency to get carried away and lose track of time just like everyone else...especially when I am talking about something I'm interested in.

I decided to let Excel automation help me with this challenge.

The company has a dual monitor laptop (really three monitors when including the video out port for the projector). I typically use this laptop ( rather than the host or sponsor's machine) to give the presentations mainly because of the set up complexity of my presentations. It's a standard Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop, but has an extra insertable mobile video card (a $100 add on item for your laptop).

We created a simple automated teleprompter/slide presenter application in Excel that monitors and controls the presentation workbook(s) for me. It is a separate instance of Excel running along side my presentation workbooks. It knows pretty much everything about the presentation, including:

• The names and location(s) of all the worksheet slides I intend to show
• The correct zoom and scroll position for each worksheet slide
• The presenters text and notes for each sheet slide
• The planned time for each slide
• The name of any macros to be run when the slide activates (I use macros to hide and un-hide bullet points and pointers, change zooms, as well as start up and control automation examples.)

When presenting, the teleprompter application is displayed on a second flat panel monitor attached to the laptop which only the presenter can see. The laptop screen (the left side of the desktop) displays only what is going to the projector screen.

The teleprompter screen gives me all the information I need about the progress of the presentation. This includes showing me both digitally and graphically how far ahead or behind schedule I am. The application also contains custom toolbars to advance the slides, etc..

This is an immense help and comfort when giving presentations. Deep into the presentation, I often show the audience what's on this hidden part of my desktop. I do this to demonstrate the many diverse uses of VBA automation."

"An example of the teleprompter screen is shown below: The small triangular graphic at the lower right of the screen is the planned time profile of the presentation (total elapsed time versus slide number). Excel will automatically compile this profile for me as I do a trial run through the presentation.

As the real presentation unfolds Excel plots the actual time profile as a semi transparent overlay of the plan.. The green cell in the lower middle of the screen shows in fractional minutes how much I am behind or ahead of schedule. Conditional formatting turns the cell red if I am behind schedule and green if I am ahead. Being ahead of schedule is not necessarily a good thing but for me at least, it is much better than being behind.

Also , looking at the slide below, I am reminded of several occasions when I was presenting and Excel went into the "AutoSave" mode. Everything stops until it finsihes! You only have to experience this once, to understand how inportant it is to remember to make sure this feature is turned off before you start your presentation. (:)}"


true north usa Presenter Tools - Excel Teleprompter Slide Control

After all of these these, can you think of anything Microsoft needs to add to Excels graphics capability?

True 3D graphics maybe ? Sharp Electronics is working on that one. It won't be long now.

Where To Go From Here....

• Return To List Of Other Examples
• Go To Next Example - Ex5 - Spreadsheets and The Web
• Go To Revious Example - Ex3 - Multi-monitor Charts and Data

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