The most obvious new feature in version 5.0 of Rainbow Analyst Professional is a completely redesigned front end. Nearly all Rainbow’s functions are now accessed via a dialogue box similar to the one shown here, which lets you change the selected workbook/ worksheet and the output medium (colour, map, report) as well as any function-specific options.The option to generate a worksheet map is also new in Version 5.0. Instead of applying colour directly to a worksheet (e.g. to indicate blocks of unique formulas), this option applies the same colour to the corresponding cells in a separate mapping worksheet. And because you can map any number of Rainbow functions to the same mapping worksheet, you can build up your own cumulative picture of the worksheet(s) you are analysing.
And in version 5.0 you can now put all your reports and maps in the same workbook (instead of each being a separate single-worksheet workbook). If you wish, you can even append them as additional worksheets in the workbook you are analysing.
Version 5.0 also includes important enhancements to Rainbow’s core functionality, of which the following are just a selection:
- The new Summary Report gives you a high-level view of a workbook, including e.g. data on Visual Basic code modules and average and maximum formula length per sheet, so that you can assess potential problem areas before starting detailed analysis.
- The Inter-Sheet Logic reports can now group relevant copied formulas together, producing a much more compact and readable report. And this technique has enabled us to speed up the inter-sheet precedents report by an order of magnitude, so that you can now quickly and easily generate a complete inter-sheet precedents report even for a model of some size.
- Nearly all Rainbow’s functions can now generate a report (grouping copied formulas where appropriate), rather than simply applying colour to the relevant cells. This means that Rainbow can now provide a much more comprehensive set of tools for use in a structured model audit process.
