Bespoke Programming Solutions

As the programmer behind the Chestysoft components seen on this website I have over 20 years' experience in a variety of software fields and I can be hired at competitive rates. I am based in the United Kingdom and am VAT registered.

My work falls into the categories outlined below.

VBA in Microsoft Office Applications

VBA macro programming to automate Excel, Word and Outlook.

Excel

A substantial part of the work that I do is data processing in Excel. This may be to import data from various sources (e.g. other Excel files, CSV, text, XML, etc.) into Excel, possibly while applying some logic to the data. Alternatively, data may be sent the other way into a format that will be used by some other application.

Another common branch of Excel work is to streamline a data entry process by using a form.

Microsoft Word

Word can be automated to produce documents dynamically, often combining data from another source, such as Excel. The built in Mail Merge functionality is very powerful but sometimes some additional logic is required, and that is when VBA can be used.

It is also a frequent requirement to extract data from Word and present it in a summarised form, such as Excel.

In both Excel and Word there are endless possibilities for automation, and on a Windows platform it is possible to draw on other components or API commands that are native to Windows, but not to Office. I would be happy to discuss any requirements.

Outlook

Outlook is more difficult to use with a macro due to the security limitations and the method of importing a macro. There are still occasions when a macro can be a powerful automation tool. It is possible to read mail from folders or to create and send new messages, while integrating with the other Office applications.

Windows to Mac Conversions

Although my background is in Windows programming I have Office 2016 for the Mac and can convert VBA code to run on the Mac, where possible. The VBA functionality in the Mac versions of Office is limited and contain some bugs that are difficult to bypass.

Debugging and Modifications to Existing Applications

Frequently an application has been devoloped in VBA and its original author is no longer available. It may have some incompatibilty with a new version or operating system or it generally requires changes to the functionality.

ASP Development

I have extensive experience with Classic ASP from developing and troubleshooting components, but I no longer produce complete applications. Ican be employed to add specific functionality to an existing application or to make minor changes or in bug tracking.

Custom Development of COM and ActiveX Components

If you have any programme logic that needs to be wrapped into a COM or ActiveX component, I can do this using Delphi. Components can be either 32 bit or 64 bit. The COM or ActiveX wrapper is relatively easy to produce so the complexity of the project depends on the programme logic that is required.