Homework H05

FinCalc III - Upgrading your Simple Financial Calculator

FinCalc

Alert: Inclement Weather

Due to the forecast weather conditions it might be difficult for you to get to the labs and do the homework.  For this reason there will be no late penalties for H05. Take your time and stay warm!

Also: if you got zero points in H03 (likely because you did not save/submit correctly) feel free to resubmit to me via MS Teams. There will be a late penalty, but you will get back many points).

Learning Goal

Learning more basic coding commands in VBA by upgrading the simple financial app created in the previous two homework.

Optional Prework

Check reading #2 and #3 in the Resources.  They are reference materials as you learn the VBA language.  Your favorite GenAI can help, too!

If you run into trouble, check the "How Tos" page. It is a collections of solutions to problems experienced by the FinTech Community. The link is included in the headers of all homework.

Context

It is well known that business requirements are often incomplete. When users see a prototype, they often come up with additional requests. This is not an exception. It is the norm.  In IT management it is called 'scope creep'.  You are about the experience it.
"I was thinking... Can I have the table of results in a choice of colors? It would look so much better..."

Task

This homework adds functionality to your Financial Calculator II, but most importantly it focuses on procedures ("macros" is the old term, "Sub" and "Function" are the new terms). You will also practice the alternative ways to do loops: for... next, and do...while.  Finally, you will implement a user choice among more than two options, and will use the Select... Case construct.  Make a copy of your H04. Make sure that it works as expected. Then modify it according to the following requirements:

Criteria/Requirements

Your app must satisfy the following requirements

  • all the requirements for the previous homework, plus:
  • include functions to compute the interest and the sum of interest plus principal.  Use them throughout the program
  • include a sub to format currency and use it throughout the program
  • create an inputBox to ask the user for a color preference (a = red; b= green; everything else = blue) and implement it using Select...Case

Hints and Tips

  • This homework is a capstone of sort: it concludes our coverage of the VBA constructs. Congratulations! Give yourself more time than you did for the previous ones. Get help in the MS Teams community if you need it.
  • I added a new link to the header of the home work pages: "HOW TOs". Go there to learn how to get things done/solve problems with VS/VBA. I will constantly update it. 
  • Do not mute the video. The verbal explanations often provide critical context that you won’t get by simply watching the screen.
  • Expect differences between vLabs and homework instructions. Sometimes the virtual labs leave parts for you to complete, and other times the homework text introduces additional or different requirements. This is intentional—it’s designed to make you think independently. Don’t follow the vLab blindly!