Office

[tamada]

Getting a new laptop soon so looking at the options for Microsoft Office as the last legit copy I bought is their 2010 and that's a bit long in the tooth. I will need Word, Excel, PowerPoint as essential with Outlook and Access handy to have.

My mate in Kuala Lumpur bought his (keys?) on Shopee and it all works fine so looking at Lazada here in Thailand, there's a confusing selection with prices from 350 baht to 1700 baht. I will need it on 3 machines.

Anyone with buying and hands on experience here?

Ta
tam

[Whistler]

Why not look at WPS which is excellent and free, the all you need is a copy of Outlook

[Stantheman]

Why not look at WPS which is excellent and free, the all you need is a copy of Outlook

You might also look into free Apache Open Office. I mostly use in place of Microsoft Word as reads Word files and can save back into Word format. Not sure about replace for excel or other files types as don't use those.

[Wee Jimmy]

Bought my liftime keys on Ebay and they work fine.

[Potamoi]

Here are a couple of options for legit MS Office keys fairly cheap:

Office 2021 Professional Plus CD Key Global
USE 30% COUPON CODE: CAREY ($50.03)
https://biitt.ly/cRYxO

Office 2016 Professional Plus CD Key Global
USE 30% COUPON CODE: CAREY ($26.66)
https://biitt.ly/3Qb40

I can vouch for those keys as well as the Windows 10 and Windows 11 keys from the same company. I use a YouTuber's coupon code to get it a little cheaper. I have used the Office keys on two or three machines I built for some fellas and the Windows 10 keys on about 8 or 10 new and old machines as well as Virtual Machines.

In my opinion, MS Office is best for compatibility particularly when sending to/from companies using the enterprise MS Office installs. Yes, there are other options but all it takes is one little issue to make the cost of the real license seem rather small. I know one die hard Linux user that runs a VM of W10 just to use MS Office for his work stuff.

If you want three licenses, you may consider upgrading your OneDrive to 1TB which gives you 5 licenses for MS Office 365. There are some cool new Excel features in later versions you may benefit from as well. I too hate to lease software but it seems to be the way the biggies are playing it. I think I pay US$100 per year for that (at least it's cheaper than my Adobe lease).

[Whistler]

Take other options unless you want 100% compatibility with 0% costs.

[Bandung_Dero]

Recently bought a new HP NoteBook from Advice (Ban Dung), it came with W11 and a fully blown copy MS Office 2019 (plus a lot of junk I would never use and so uninstalled). Then a few weeks ago had them install a new SSD into my old HP and paid an extra 500 Baht for a licensed W10 installation, they also placed MS Office 2019 onto it. Without me asking in both cases??? But appreciated. I was able to register both copies under my own name.

[Potamoi]

Take other options unless you want 100% compatibility with 0% costs.

I could never get the WPS Spreadsheet to behave properly with VBA macros made in Excel 2013 or 2016. It is also not compatible with .xlsb This will not matter to most but many VBA heavy spreadsheets open/close faster with .xlsb instead of .xlsm so it may present a compatibility issue when sharing/collaborating using the binary format.

If you have any tips on getting the free version to be VBA friendly (even if only for .xlsm), myself and the rest of the community may benefit. I may bugger around with it again out of curiosity later particularly the Linux version. Thanks for the reminder.

[Whistler]

Never pushed WPS this far. If I wanted to do something difficult I would write my own program.

[tamada]

Never pushed WPS this far. If I wanted to do something difficult I would write my own program.

That's still being pushed but. I've started messing with python to get around a sticking point on a particularly tedious excel-centric routine.

I collaborate with clients who use Office full-Monty and several macro-heavy spreadsheets so having the same tools and compatibility is important, especially working remotely.

I lot of stuff is cloud-based these days which is awesome in the fiber-optic and CAT6 or 7 enabled home, office or fixed installation but it's a bit rubbish when it's accessed by vsat from ships, especially in +3 meter seas.

[Whistler]

Then nobody knows until you try. If you have one of those ugly spreadsheets, I would suggest you get a copy of WPS and try it out.

Business people who rely on spreadsheets for important information reporting, is an indication that their existing business systems are inadequate. It is a risky approach as it is a truism that 90% of spreadsheets contain errors.

I have no experience with spreadsheets being used for other than commerce reporting purposes, engineering etc, but suggest the same error rate is likely.

[Bandung_Dero]

Then nobody knows until you try. If you have one of those ugly spreadsheets, I would suggest you get a copy of WPS and try it out.

Business people who rely on spreadsheets for important information reporting, is an indication that their existing business systems are inadequate. It is a risky approach as it is a truism that 90% of spreadsheets contain errors.

I have no experience with spreadsheets being used for other than commerce reporting purposes, engineering etc, but suggest the same error rate is likely.

Nonsense!
Don't know where you are getting this "90% of spreadsheets contain errors" from?? Truism = gimee a break! I have been using them extensively since the "Lotus 123" days (which, BTW, was compatible with Excel at it's introduction including the macros I wrote in those days and some of which I still use today).
I would guess Excel is open on my PC at least 3 hours a day and I rely on it heavily for my day to day income/decision making!

[Potamoi]

The Office 365 benefits might be all the new features being rolled out, not just in Excel, although there are some pretty cool new functions there too.

Here is a little taste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWcLM6_Q_00&t=49s

The Office scripts may also be something useful to some of the UM users:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djf3tBIYmCw

The drawback of course is the newer beta features may not be standard with the company/client's version.

In any case, if full 100% compatibility is what you are after, be mindful for the clients Office version. My previous firm was hell bent on being a fast follower and always at least one version behind the current mostly to reduce IT costs I'm sure but they were also wary of the new early version trap.

[tamada]

Then nobody knows until you try. If you have one of those ugly spreadsheets, I would suggest you get a copy of WPS and try it out.

Business people who rely on spreadsheets for important information reporting, is an indication that their existing business systems are inadequate. It is a risky approach as it is a truism that 90% of spreadsheets contain errors.

I have no experience with spreadsheets being used for other than commerce reporting purposes, engineering etc, but suggest the same error rate is likely.

Been there, done that. Tried WPS. Didn't like the t-shirt.

My spreadsheets are not ugly either. Even the python-assisted one is still dead classy. My peers are always trying to get a copy.

I'm not about telling my client that "their existing business systems are inadequate" as I'm neither hired for, or qualified to render that evaluation. Spreadsheets help us both do our jobs. I am cognizant of spurious excel rounding and would hope those on the client side are similarly apprised.

Anyone tried any of those Office offers on lazada?

[Bandung_Dero]

Further to my previous post:-
If errors appear in Excel they were probably related to a macro not written correctly. This is an example of one of 13 macros I wrote to help me evaluate the situation in the AFL and make my selections for my Tipping Competitions.

Sub UpdateLeagueLadder()

' Draft by BD 06-Jun-2004

' Tests all games and tabulates League Ladder
' data to the "Calculation" sheet for cut and
' paste to the next round sheet.

' SHORTCUT = ctrl p

Dim F(18) As Integer
Dim L(18) As Integer
Dim A(18) As String
Let A(1) = "Adelaide"
Let A(2) = "Brisbane Lions"
Let A(3) = "Carlton"
Let A(4) = "Collingwood"
Let A(5) = "Essendon"
Let A(6) = "Fremantle"
Let A(7) = "Geelong"
Let A(8) = "Gold Coast"
Let A(9) = "Hawthorn"
Let A(10) = "Kangaroos"
Let A(11) = "Melbourne"
Let A(12) = "Port Adelaide"
Let A(13) = "Richmond"
Let A(14) = "St. Kilda"
Let A(15) = "Sydney"
Let A(16) = "West Coast"
Let A(17) = "West Sydney"
Let A(18) = "Western Bulldogs"

Let Q = ActiveSheet.Name
Worksheets("Calculation").Range("V7:X24") = 0
Sheets("Calculation").Select
Range("T7:Y24").Select
Selection.Sort Key1:=Range("T7"), Order1:=xlAscending, Header:=xlGuess, _
OrderCustom:=1, MatchCase:=False, Orientation:=xlTopToBottom
For W = 1 To 23
Sheets("Round #" & W).Visible = True
Sheets("Round #" & W).Select
For I = 1 To 18
Y = Worksheets("Calculation").Cells(6 + I, 22).Value
Z = Worksheets("Calculation").Cells(6 + I, 23).Value
T = Worksheets("Calculation").Cells(6 + I, 24).Value
For D = 2 To 18 Step 2
If Cells(D, 4) = A(I) Then F(I) = Cells(D, 15).Value
If Cells(D, 4) = A(I) Then L(I) = Cells(D + 1, 15).Value Else GoTo EndLoop1
Worksheets("Calculation").Cells(6 + I, 22).Value = F(I) + Y
Worksheets("Calculation").Cells(6 + I, 23).Value = L(I) + Z
If Cells(D, 15).Value > Cells(D + 1, 15).Value Then Worksheets("Calculation").Cells(6 + I, 24).Value = T + 4
If Cells(D, 15).Value = 0 Then GoTo EndLoop1
If Cells(D, 15).Value = Cells(D + 1, 15).Value Then Worksheets("Calculation").Cells(6 + I, 24).Value = T + 2
EndLoop1:
Next D
For D = 2 To 18 Step 2
If Cells(D, 6) = A(I) Then F(I) = Cells(D + 1, 15).Value
If Cells(D, 6) = A(I) Then L(I) = Cells(D, 15).Value Else GoTo EndLoop2
Worksheets("Calculation").Cells(6 + I, 22).Value = F(I) + Y
Worksheets("Calculation").Cells(6 + I, 23).Value = L(I) + Z
If Cells(D + 1, 15).Value > Cells(D, 15).Value Then Worksheets("Calculation").Cells(6 + I, 24).Value = T + 4
If Cells(D, 15).Value = 0 Then GoTo EndLoop2
If Cells(D + 1, 15).Value = Cells(D, 15).Value Then Worksheets("Calculation").Cells(6 + I, 24).Value = T + 2
EndLoop2:
Next D
Next I
Sheets("Round #" & W).Visible = False
Next W
Sheets("Calculation").Select
Range("T7:Y24").Select
Selection.Sort Key1:=Range("X7"), Order1:=xlDescending, Key2:=Range("Y7") _
, Order2:=xlDescending, Header:=xlGuess, OrderCustom:=1, MatchCase:= _
False, Orientation:=xlTopToBottom
Range("N1").Select
Sheets(Q).Visible = True
Sheets("Calculation").Select

End Sub

One error in here and it's crap! The software is only as good as the information fed into it.

[Whistler]

Then nobody knows until you try. If you have one of those ugly spreadsheets, I would suggest you get a copy of WPS and try it out.

Business people who rely on spreadsheets for important information reporting, is an indication that their existing business systems are inadequate. It is a risky approach as it is a truism that 90% of spreadsheets contain errors.

I have no experience with spreadsheets being used for other than commerce reporting purposes, engineering etc, but suggest the same error rate is likely.

Nonsense!
Don't know where you are getting this "90% of spreadsheets contain errors" from?? Truism = gimee a break! I have been using them extensively since the "Lotus 123" days (which, BTW, was compatible with Excel at it's introduction including the macros I wrote in those days and some of which I still use today).
I would guess Excel is open on my PC at least 3 hours a day and I rely on it heavily for my day to day income/decision making!

I predate you by a country mile on IT. Errors can easily occur on simple formulae not just macros. Amongst my first discovery sessions with clients looking for new software is how many spreadsheets they have lots of spreadsheets means their software has issues.

The other issue of spreadsheets is they are often extracting data from existing systems which means reporting is batch and not live, dashboard reporting beats the hell out of spreadsheets and permits drill downs.

I have been aware of spreadsheet error problems for decades and after 56 years in IT I do have some experience, but just in case you want an independent verification here are a few

https://www.forbes.com/sites/salesforce ... et-errors/

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/88-of ... 2013-04-17

https://www.psp-it.co.uk/blogs/your-spr ... ost-90-do/

If you know more than these industry pundits, I suggest you write to them all and tell them they are wrong and you wish to correct their nonsense.

[Potamoi]

I predate you by a country mile on IT. Errors can easily occur on simple formulae not just macros. Amongst my first discovery sessions with clients looking for new software is how many spreadsheets they have lots of spreadsheets means their software has issues.

The other issue of spreadsheets is they are often extracting data from existing systems which means reporting is batch and not live, dashboard reporting beats the hell out of spreadsheets and permits drill downs.

I have been aware of spreadsheet error problems for decades and after 56 years in IT I do have some experience, but just in case you want an independent verification here are a few

https://www.forbes.com/sites/salesforce ... et-errors/

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/88-of ... 2013-04-17

https://www.psp-it.co.uk/blogs/your-spr ... ost-90-do/

If you know more than these industry pundits, I suggest you write to them all and tell them they are wrong and you wish to correct their nonsense.

Since this has turned into a spreadsheet bashing thread in order to prove WPS is every bit as good as Excel for shopping lists, checkbook balancing and most importantly to some, FREE! (if you don't need all features), let's take error of compatibility out of the equation, Tam.

Get proper MS Office the the rest is human inflicted. The only decision is which version of stand alone or 365.

[Bandung_Dero]

Errors can easily occur on simple formulae not just macros

Exactly, that is not a problem with the software but the information/formulae written into a cell by the user! So why can you say 90% of spreadsheet results are flawed????

[noosard]

Errors can easily occur on simple formulae not just macros

Exactly, that is not a problem with the software but the information/formulae written into a cell by the user! So why can you say 90% of spreadsheet results are flawed????

Seems the tradesman is blaming his tools

[Whistler]

Errors can easily occur on simple formulae not just macros

Exactly, that is not a problem with the software but the information/formulae written into a cell by the user! So why can you say 90% of spreadsheet results are flawed????

You said I spoke nonsense. I said 90% of spreadsheets had errors, and that figure has been well validated, by indrpendent sources, so I was not posting nonsense at all.

I did not say those errors were software failures.