data labeling programming

I use Excel regularly (now 2003) but many of my more
sophisticated spreadsheets are still in Lotus - for one
reason only: the ability to program any data label or
title on charts. Excel allows you to label with values or
series name - and you can manually edit those labels to
any text that you want. However, Lotus allows you to label
and to name charts and name axis of charts with references
to cells - where you can program in ANY label you want.
That is really powerful and, for many of my spreadsheets,
an absolute necessity.

Since I am using Lotus 5.0 (probably 10 years old!) - why
hasn't Excel caught up in this area? It has surpassed
Lotus in virtually everything else! Is it a patent issue?
It is an extremely powerful feature! I keep upgrading my
Excel, feeling that is just has to be included in the
upgrade, but alas - disapointment again this year.

Joe

There are many frustrations that users have with features not migrating from
Lotus and other unique required features. It tends not to be driven by
patents but more marketing who have to determine exactly how many 'desktops'
really *need* this new feature against the latest webcentric whizzbang.
This determines how many sales will be made.

Second to this the developers get involved with issues of backward
compatibility. This for example is certainly the issue why Excel has it's
'restricting' number of rows and columns. (256 columns is not even one for
each day of the year).

Lastly comes 'fixes'...This is a real want for developers, they really want
stuff to work and boy do they have the ability but, it doesn't sell many new
units (I believe it would, but who am I) and customers want it for free!

You could try listing your wish at
http://register.microsoft.com/mswish/suggestion.asp

and maybe a partial solution would be Rob Bovey's XY chart labeler at

http://www.appspro.com/Utilities/ChartLabeler.htm

--
HTH
Nick Hodge
Microsoft MVP - Excel
Southampton, England
HIS


"Joe Van Ryzin" wrote in message
...
I use Excel regularly (now 2003) but many of my more
sophisticated spreadsheets are still in Lotus - for one
reason only: the ability to program any data label or
title on charts. Excel allows you to label with values or
series name - and you can manually edit those labels to
any text that you want. However, Lotus allows you to label
and to name charts and name axis of charts with references
to cells - where you can program in ANY label you want.
That is really powerful and, for many of my spreadsheets,
an absolute necessity.

Since I am using Lotus 5.0 (probably 10 years old!) - why
hasn't Excel caught up in this area? It has surpassed
Lotus in virtually everything else! Is it a patent issue?
It is an extremely powerful feature! I keep upgrading my
Excel, feeling that is just has to be included in the
upgrade, but alas - disapointment again this year.