This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/SnooEagles8908 on 2024-10-07 19:49:18+00:00.


I am an engineer and was contracting for a company some years ago. Part of the work I was doing involved performing the same calculation for 24,000 different cases. This was all done in Excel, and having a formula in 24,000 lines caused the spreadsheet to slow right down and recalculate slowly.

I wrote a piece of Visual Basic that would take each one of the cases and calculate it and then paste the answer in the column but just as values.

It took a while to run, but then it was done and didn’t slow the spreadsheet down.

At the client’s request we were supposed to deliver all spreadsheets as macro-free workbooks.

I suggested that we keep a working copy in case we ever had to repeat any of it.

I was told “No, save it as macro-free”.

So I did.

Fast forward about 6 months and I was no longer contracting for them.

I get a text message:

“Hi. Remember that piece of work you did with the macro?”

“Oh yes.”

“We can’t find the macro.”

Yes…because I deleted it, remember at your request.

I suggested that I could come in and re-write it for them.

They said that sounded good.

I said, but I will be paid, right?

To which they said…“No, they just want the macro.”

To which I said…nothing :-)