DBA 3.0 Army Design Tool - Update

Late last year I released the first version of this tool.  It was a nice data project that I thought would fill a rainy afternoon and be of benefit to others.   Earlier this month Chris Laudermilk left a comment that lead to a significantly improved v1.0.

Via email, Chris contributed a couple of neat formulae.  One parsed the options text removing the need for users to enter the number of elements.   The other selected the troop type where there was only one option; once again reducing user input.  Very efficient.

What's new and what's changed?
Unfortunately, there's a drawback with the second formula.  When a user selects an army and enters an option it overwrites the formula.  Repeated use would remove more of the formulae eventually removing them altogether.

To make best use of the second formula there needed to be a way of reinstating the formula each time a new army was created.   Therefore, the new version contains a relatively simple app script (Google speak for a macro) to do this.  The script also shows a notification on screen confirming the change of list.

The way you write a list remains the same; you just don't have to enter as much data.

Scripting
As I'm an amateur programmer, the use of app scripts is a big step.  It means that if I share the spreadsheet, others have to trust the code I've used.  This being so, I've thought long and hard before deciding to release this version; app script and all.

Get a copy
You may be wary of using a spreadsheet containing app scripts.  Such scripts, no matter how benign, raise security concerns but it was the only way to provide additional functionality.  If you want to try the new version read on:

Disclaimer

The following link allows you to copy a version of the DBA Army Design Tool v2.0 spreadsheet and associated script to your Google Docs account.

You do so at your own risk and in the full knowledge that it comes with no warranty whatsoever.

Copy to your Google Docs account.

When you first open the spreadsheet you will be asked to authorize the various scripts.  Here's a worked example.

The original, script free, version remains available.

You need a Google account, and access to Sheets, to use this spreadsheet.  You can download a copy from Google Sheets and use Excel but it doesn't look as pretty and some errors aren't trapped as they are with the Google Sheets version.

Finally, please leave a comment if; you've used the spreadsheet, you've found any bugs, or you have any questions.