I have some good news to report. Recently, Microsoft has improved the Visual Basic experience in Excel 2016 for Mac. Don't get the idea that it is great, but they improved it enough to give you a working solution to the particular problem of not having the Data input form. Please take a moment to read about J-Walk's free Enhanced Data input form. It's actually a bit nicer than the one we used to have in older versions of Excel. You will note that the site says flat out on the page ' This add-in does not work with any version of Excel for Macintosh.' Well, guess what?
Excel Data Entry Form - Let me show you how easy it is to create a Data Entry Form in Excel with the following handy steps.
Version 3b now works in Excel 2016 for Mac, assuming you have installed the latest updates. I tested in Excel version 10.21 for Mac. Go to the Excel menu and choose About Excel to check your update level. If you're not at version 15.20 or 15.21 then head to Excel's Help menu and choose Check for Updates to get the updates. Here's a link to the product description page: After reading about the add-in, go to the download page. Click the Download link for version 3b (under the Excel 2007 heading). The download file will be named dataform3.zip.
In Finder, double-click the zip file and it will open a folder called dataform3. Go inside the folder and find dataform3.xlam.
You can drag this file to a permanent location in which it can be used. I recommend making a folder called Add-ins in your Documents folder and drag dataform3.xlam into that folder.
Now, open Excel 2016. On the Tools menu choose Excel Add-ins. Click the Browse button and choose the saved file dataform3.xlam. Then click the Open button. When prompted about Macros, choose to allow Macros to run.
![For For](/uploads/1/2/4/0/124057111/716517155.png)
Your Add-ins dialog should have the add-in listed and checked, like this: Now you're ready to use the new add-in. Select a cell in your data table. Then go to the Data tab of the Ribbon and you will see a new button off to the right labeled J-Walk Enhanced DataForm. Click this button to activate the J-Walk Enhanced Data Form. I am an unpaid volunteer and do not work for Microsoft. 'Independent Advisors' work for contractors hired by Microsoft. 'Microsoft Agents' work for Microsoft Support.
Excel 2016 for Mac brings lots of welcome improvements to the workhorse spreadsheet but also leaves out useful tools. Pros Moving to the cloud: Like the other apps in the latest Mac Office suite, Excel 2016 lets you store, sync, and edit files online, via Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage service. You can also save Excel files to your Dropbox account. Collaborate: Excel 2016, through OneDrive, lets you share documents with colleagues and collaborate in real time.
You can chat online as well, either through a document chat window or through Skype. Modern design: The redesigned ribbon for the Mac version of Excel borrows the look and feel of its Windows counterpart, presenting tools and formatting options in much the same way as Excel for Windows does. Excel also recommends appropriate charts based on spreadsheet data. Moving across platforms: Excel 2016 supports many of the Windows keyboard shortcuts and most of the Excel 2013 for Windows functions, which should make it easier to use the tool across platforms.
![Forms Forms](/uploads/1/2/4/0/124057111/403121430.gif)
The update also includes an Analysis ToolPak add-in, PivotTable slicers for analyzing data, and an improved formula builder. Cons Macro limits: Prior to Office 2016, you could build macros in Excel for Mac.
The 2016 edition offers what Microsoft calls a 'simplified' Visual Basic Editor (VBE), which allows you to debug existing macros. But if you want to build new macros, you need to do that on the Windows side or use an earlier Mac version. For those who built macros in preceding Mac editions, this is a big loss. Bottom Line Excel 2016 is probably worth the upgrade just based on its ability to take advantage of OneDrive.
The new analysis tools and formula builder help keep Microsoft's spreadsheet an essential tool. Hobbling its macros tool, however, diminishes a bit of the attraction for serious users. More Resources. With the new features in Excel, you'll be telling your data's story in no time. Charts, graphs, keyboard shortcuts and data entry enhancements (like formula builder and autocomplete) immediately make you more productive. And support for Excel 2013 (for Windows) functions ensures that you can easily share files across platforms.
The new Analysis ToolPak offers a wide range of statistical functions, including moving averages and exponential smoothing, and PivotTable Slicers help you cut through large volumes of data to find patterns that answer questions.