Benefits of Using Excel Lists?

[Connie]

Excel 2003 now has a Create List option under the Data
Menu. From the reading I've done in Help, it says
the "Lists" can communicate with Windows Sharepoint
Services. For someone who doeesn't have Sharepoint and
doesn't plan to use it, is there any benefit in setting
up your data range as a "List" rather than just leaving
it as a data range? I see that you can insert a Totals
Row in a "List", but you can't use the Subtotal command
under the Data Menu to get multiple subtotals. I thought
maybe when I did a Word mail merge and used the Excel
file as my data source, the recipient list would be
confined to just rows in the "List", but when I tested
it, it included cells outside of the Excel "List". You
can sort, filter, add and delete rows to, and resize
the "List", but you can do that to a plain data range.
So can anyone give me a good reason(s) to bother with
changing my data range to a "List"? Thanks for your
opinions in advance.

 

[Bernard Liengme]

One useful feature: a chart made from a List is automatically a dynamic
chart - add more data and the Excel updates chart without user intervention.

 

[Harlan Grove]

One useful feature: a chart made from a List is automatically a dynamic
chart - add more data and the Excel updates chart without user intervention.

...

It's always nice to see Excel add features other spreadsheets have had for
years. This is how charts based on query tables worked in Lotus 123 Release 5,
which came out about 9 years ago.

 

[J.E. McGimpsey]

It was nice to see this feature finally made it to WinXL. MacXL has
had it for several years.

Other nice features in MacXL lists (I haven't looked at XL03's List
manager): Automatic application of Validation to columns rather than
individual cells; Automatic application of Formatting and
Conditional Formatting; automatic insertion of formulas into
designated columns when a row is added; the ability to set default
values for list entries; the ability to restrict entries to unique
values to prevent duplication.

 

[Harlan Grove]

Other nice features in MacXL lists (I haven't looked at XL03's List
manager): Automatic application of Validation to columns rather than
individual cells; Automatic application of Formatting and
Conditional Formatting; automatic insertion of formulas into
designated columns when a row is added; the ability to set default
values for list entries; the ability to restrict entries to unique
values to prevent duplication.

....

Sounds like a much better product. Pity it can't compete against Windows
Excel.