Macros and cobby

When do macros make sense?

In general, cobby has no problems dealing with macros. They run normally in Excel and can also start cobby processes. However, we have gained experience that it is not always advantageous to use macros, so instead of using macros we often fall back on procedures with formulas, templates and possibly Power Query. One step where we always use macros ourselves is the cleanup step.

Advantages and disadvantages of formulas and macros

Disadvantages of macros

Situation: The macro does not work. What now? Employees who have not written the macro themselves find it difficult to reproduce it in a short period of time and thus face a major problem of solving the error that has occurred. This solution process can take a lot of time.

Advantages of formulas

Formulas are logical, unambiguous constructs that are quicker to understand. Once you have learned to handle Excel formulas, you can illustrate formulas at any time. In contrast, however, it does not mean that every person who has once learned to write macros will also write easily understandable texts.

Formulas can be saved in templates in cobby and thus be used again and again. Likewise, it is an advantage of cobby that due to a precise documentation of the work steps, templates and filters, everyone can work with cobby after a short introduction. If a superuser creates the templates and workflows, they can be easily followed by students and carried out as quickly as possible.