How to go from here - how to develop my sheet even more?

[behedwin]

I have made this large excel sheet with a table with tons of data.
I have built userforms to control it all and it works great.

But now i dont know how to develop this further.

Problem with excel is that only one person can work in the file at the same time.
Problem is that it is in excel and it is not online in the cloud or works on other devices than those with a full excel installation.

I would love to get some tips on where to go from here.
What could be my next step to take my work and keep making it better and develop it even further?

Is it MS Access?
Is it something else?

 

[Joe4]

Yes, if you are going to have multiple people working in it simultaneously, I would look at using a database program, like Microsoft Access or SQL (or MySQL).

 

[behedwin]

Thanks. Any advice how to get started with access? Im not good with VBA, i google allot. Any good guides or something to get a start on a database solution.

 

[Joe4]

Well, unfortunately to do it the right way, it helps to:
- Be proficient in Access
- Understand the rules or relational database, especially the rules of normalization

Unfortunately, that is not real a "quick and easy" task. The learning curve for Access is steeper than Excel, but the benefits are great.
So if you are willing to take the time to educate yourself on these topics, you can create a nice working application.

There are many articles out there on the internet, but here is one that is a good starting point: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Database-design-basics-eb2159cf-1e30-401a-8084-bd4f9c9ca1f5

 

[behedwin]

Thats what i thought. I have tried to quickly dip my toes in Access but never really understood it and therefore i have keept to excel for so long.

Is there some middle things here... excel > something > access
I mean something to start with to go at it a bit more slowly?

Or maybe play with the idea to change direction all together... is there somewhere to build something similar like an excel/userform application but maybe online with a more armature friendly environment?

 

[Joe4]

People often think that Access is an extension of Excel, or what to use simply when things get too big for Excel. That isn't really the case.
Access and Excel are actually two distinctively different programs, designed for different purposes.

Excel was designed to be kind of "flat-file" spreadsheet program.
Access is a relational database program.

As with anything else, it is really a matter of trying to figure out the best tool for the job (a fellow MVP said "you could drive nails with a wrench, but that probably isn't the best tool for the job!).

I have seen people use Access as a relational database. It can be done, but it is usually very ugly and clunky.

One thing I really like about Access is how easy it is to create Forms. In Excel, to tie the forms back to the worksheets, you have to write a bunch of VBA code. In Access you don't. It is simply a matter of dragging the fields from your data source to wherever you want them on the form (the fields are automatically bound to your datasource without having to write any VBA)! That is not to say that you won't use VBA in Access, there are plenty of reasons to use it. Its just that Form creation is so much easier than it is in Excel.

OK, so I kind of went off on a tangent there. In a nutshell, the main driving force behind what program you use is what the structure of your data is, and what you are trying to accomplish.
We really do not have those details about your project, so we cannot so definitely you should choose one way over another. There are various options.
For example, if it is simply a matter of large amounts of data, another possible solution might be to store the data in MySQL (which is free), and use MSQuery in Excel.