Excel Experts-Exchange Regulars--Take 6

Hmmm im not watching much of TV these days so patrick got no clue about what you are talking....

Saurabh,
Would it have been more in your ken had I offered the following:

When I bring to you colored cells, my lad,
I understand why there is such a play of highlights on headers, on shapes,
And why selections are painted in tints
when I give colored cells to you, my lad.

When I bring array formulas to your greedy hands
I know how to count with many criteria
And why data is secretly filled with insight
when I bring array formulas to your greedy hands

When I give you RibbonX controls to make you smile, my darling,
I surely understand what pleasure streams from Excel in morning light
And what delight that is which Microsoft brings to my body
when I give you RibbonX to make you smile


Brad

>Hmmm im not watching much of TV these days so patrick got no clue about what you are talking....

It's got nothing to do with TV. Just a simple observation following Brad's introduction here which mentioned WWIII.

Patrick,
I e-mailed you some grist for one of your favorite rants.
Brad

Brad,

Thanx thats a nice song you composed for me....and hey as suggested i did my profile changes.....

Patrick,

Sorry missed out that one...read it again...and got it....

Saurabh....

Got it Brad, Thanks for that - Patrick

Saurabh,
Just to keep the record straight, the "song" was written by one of India's greatest poets. I changed some words to fit the situation and my bride,who knew the original poem, was ROFL when I read it out loud. All of the grace and imagery should be attributed to Rabindranath Tagore, and I wish I could read it in Bengali to fully appreciate its majesty.

Brad

Oh Rabindra Nath Tagore....he wrote our Indian National Anthem as well.....and he was a gr8 guy...and Bengali is quite similar to our native tongue which is Hindi...If you want to know more about India..Can tell you about it....

Saurabh...

Was the MVP Summit good for those who managed to go?

You missed a great time, Rory! Hopefully you'll be able to make it next year (first week of March) :)

If I get invited, I'll do my best! :)
(at least those dates don't clash with my wedding anniversary!!)

rorya said:
>>Was the MVP Summit good for those who managed to go?

It was a real treat.  Being able to meet my heroes in person was awesome: Kevin, Brad, Matt,
Shane (a sometime contributor here), and other guys like J-Walk, Ken Puls, Chip Pearson, Rob
Bovey, Bob (aka xld and many other handles), Zack, and many others, some from other
disciplines.  No particular order, of course, and no slight intended toward the many I did not
list.

One thing I can share with you: Microsoft *is* listening.  We cannot get all of what we want, but
the company is making an effort to get feedback from us power users, and to give us what we
are asking for where it makes sense.

Patrick,
Thanks for the feedback - good to know!
It would be nice to find out if you guys bear any resemblance in person to the characters living in my head... :)
Rory

>Was the MVP Summit good for those who managed to go?

It was fantastic! Meeting the people who make Excel, listening to Steve Ballmer speak, being asked what we think their focus should be and how they have been doing. And then there were the social events and getting to know our peers. Pretty cool. It was the first "business" trip I have taken in a very long time (I HATE to travel for business having done so to an extreme in an earlier life) and I have already marked my calendar for the next one. It was a real treat.

Kevin

<<if you guys bear any resemblance in person to the characters living in my head>>

Yup. Kevin was exactly like that.

:) Figured as much!

It's good to hear that Microsoft are listening to real users of Excel. However are they just listening and keeping the delegates happy or are they actually going to translate those ideas, requests, comments and suggestions into a better product. I suppose only time will tell.

Not that I would ever qualify for an invitation, but if I ever did I'm afraid I'd decline it, as it's not a country that I will ever visit. I'm sure you folks are excellent guys - so please don't take it personally.

>it's not a country that I will ever visit...so please don't take it personally
I'm pretty disgusted with my country so I wouldn't visit us either. However, we have managed to devalue ourselves to the point where the Pound will by a lot more than the Dollar...at a minimum you could find some bargains...

>However are they just listening and keeping the delegates happy or are they actually going to translate those ideas, requests, comments and suggestions into a better product
When Steve Ballmer says in no uncertain terms "if anyone, and I mean ANYONE, at Microsoft does not return your email, I want you to tell me about it personally" and then gives us his personal email address, I think they are listening to us. Put another way, there were whole sessions (the Excel extensibility session for example) where the focus was mostly on what Microsoft can do to make the product better in a way that works for us, not them, and not telling us how we should be using it or what it will be. Business cards and emails were exchanged. As far as I could tell it was genuine.

>Yup. Kevin was exactly like that.
Hmmm...

I have a quick question....

Would i get anything extra as in additional powers or something once i become a Genius in EE...???

Saurabh...

You'd get access to the secret drunken picture archive of the excel group.. with new shots from the summit!

And there was most certainly some drunkenness at the summit!

Matt - posts to this thread don't count.

They don't? Dang.

The rest of you should have seen Kevin there.. couldn't keep him sober!

Hmm so i just would get 1 certificate + 1 shirt + Access to the secret drunken pictures...Hmm i see sounds like intresting.....

And hey i guess i would be the youngest genius...as im only 26..anyone younger then me out here and a genius..??

Saurabh...

Martinis and margaritas and beer for breakfast, woohoo!

And Hey Guys anyone intrested to know what happened lately with my EE T-shirt...??

Saurabh...

It's on a boat somewhere in the Pacific, hopefully headed west.

Matt, post this:

   "You can't do that (without VBA)."

here:

   http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_23344493.html

I'll go find 9 more for the day for you.

Kevin

Nopes...well in India we get it by postal service..and since i put up in a society..so thats get to my society gate from where i have to collect it...Now this master T-shirt got it delivered out there and i never came to know about it..Untill when i found out that my security Guard supervisor is wearing one....I.e. he stole directly from my society gate... :-(

Saurabh...

Kevin...

To find 9 more its quite easy...just visit sharath profile and check for his recent questions...and you would get ample amount of questions there.....

Saurabh...

Translation please?

Translation of wht...??

Hey I've posted to 4 threads the past couple days (ones that "count") when I've found time, I don't have long enough to come up with the VBA for that other thread so its all yours.

Think I'll still stay clear of sharaths questions for now until I find one I can answer without looking it up in google

:-)

"Nopes...well in India we get it by postal service..and since i put up in a society..so thats get to my society gate from where i have to collect it..."

I think you are saying...

"No, ships don't deliver my mail, the postal service does. And, since I live in a community where the mail is delivered to a common area, I suspect the community security guard supervisor stole my t-shirt. My suspicions were confirmed the other day when I saw him wearing an Experts Exchange Master t-shirt and he doesn't even have a computer."

Yes Kevin...thats what i meant...and the best part is you are talking about computers...He doesnt even know what in the world is EE or what is a computer...He is illiterate....

And a Society in India is like you have area build up in which you have some flats and then you have a common security guard for all those flats...

Saurabh....

And any particular reason why this happens in excel 2007...

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Spreadsheets/Q_23338007.html

As i have tried to google the issue but havent found any concrete answers till now which exactly nails down the problem...

Saurabh...

>And hey i guess i would be the youngest genius...as im only 26..anyone younger then me out here and a genius..??

I dunno the stats on that, but I'd care to guess that at 63 I'm the oldest in the Excel TA who's mentioned in its 'front page'! And what's more no one gives me any special T shirts for that - but then why should they.

Hey Patrick...

I didnt knew that you are the oldest...And you are mentioned on the front page of EE...thats cool...Man you guys really rock and have ample knowledge of excel...Im just a new born baby for you guys....

Saurabh....

>I'm pretty disgusted with my country so I wouldn't visit us either.

I am ashamed to admit to being British. However I must not turn this thread into a political discourse. However it's encouraging to hear that I don't hold my views alone.

>...As far as I could tell it was genuine.

Kevin, that is truly encouraging. I wonder if they will really hold up their end of the bargain as the months roll by - I do hope so.

Saurabh,

Ah but:

greater age<>greater knowledge
greater age = greater need to learn
lesser age = greater ability to learn

Patrick

Patrick i agree to you over that...with my age but what i meant to say is experience as knowledge comes with experience only..when you try and test things...but what you said is also valid...and definately makes sense...

And have you guys ever been to India...??Its a great place to be... and i love things out here....if you guys ever get a chance...do visit...and if you need any help..just give me a buzz...i would make sure everything goes fine.....

Saurabh..

Saurabh,

That is a great offer. I have never really been to India, only stopped en-route to the Far East. My brother is a frequent visitor to India and he loves it. In what part of India do you live?

Patrick

Patrick,

I live in New-Delhi which is the capital of India...and being Capital its one of most developed city that you can think about..But i got connections all over in India..Since things what i meant is specially relationships works completely different in this part of country if you compare from rest of the world..

Saurabh...

Saurabh,

My brother and sister-in-law go on walking holidays in the low foothills of the Himalayas. They usually go as a group or 12 to 14 friends - mostly medics.

Patrick

Patrick..

They must be visiting Nepal which is another country right next to India and then Himachal and Uttranchal one of the beautiful places in India to go...

I think the major differences which i have obsereved myself is the culture and the food...Dont meant to offend anyone..but the food shux big time of US and UK...its just tasteless as in all it has cheese and salt..thts it...but out here you get food which you would just love to eat and which is spicy and full of taste...which you love eating...

Saurabh...

My wife says I have a mental age of 4 - does that qualify me as the youngest Genius? ;)

>My wife says I have a mental age of 4 - does that qualify me as the youngest Genius? ;)

Absolutely - congratulations.

Rory..Yups...Congrats....Now i know who is the youngest one....

Rory..Are you from US Too..??

Saurabh...

Forgot what i asked...You from Uk....And i was searching for the word...for the food..what i meant to say its blunt.....

Saurabh

Nope, I'm in the UK. Had a job offer in the US a while ago, but it was in Utah... :)

Rory...U ever been to India...??

Saurabh,
I think you mean bland, rather than blunt.

Saurabh,

No, they stay in India and have so far not visited Nepal or Bhutan. They walk up to about 17,000ft over a two week period. They keep well away from other Europeans as they enjoy getting to know and understand the people whose villages they travel through. They always come back totally enthusiastic and with super photos of people, places and views.

Patrick

No, I've never been there - my Dad lived there for a while I think but that was before I was born.

Hmm well in short what i meant is tasteless....

Yep - bland. Not all English food is bland though, if only because curry is pretty much a staple English dish these days!

Patrick...

I understand what you meant to say as its really fun out here...

Rory....

Thats way long back.....


Neways i got to go guys..Time to catch on sleep..its 4 in the morning out here....Its nice talking to you guys...and i just have a suggestion that we guys should intreact with each other quite often rather then just excel to attleast know each other better..rather then just what we do.....

Saurabh...

Any Excel Zone Advisor here...i want to report something...that i want there attention on....

Saurabh...

Saurabh,
What is the issue?
Brad

Brad...Thanx Kevin helped me out...i wanted to re-open a question....

Saurabh...

Good afternoon Experts,

I am trying to find a question in the Excel TA that relates to Chart Trend lines. The question was how to extract the Trend Line formula from it's label form and to make use of it as a formula. Someone cracked it but I failed to keep a record of it. Can anyone help me locate that question.

Thanks to all.

Patrick

Patrick,
Did you mean this one? http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_23059425.html?sfQueryTermInfo=1+chart+excel+formula+trendlin
Rory

Rory,

Thank you for that. I've created another solution - it's here:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_23346722.html

What's odd is that as I was involved in the original, which you found, I could find no trace of any file on my hdd.

Anyhow thanks for your help.

Patrick

Hi Guys...

Just wanted to check anyone have you incase have worked something similar to this....

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_23363438.html

Thanks for all your help and looking...

Saurabh...

Didn't want this one to sneak past anyone here

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/may08/05-13MacBU2008PR.mspx

Most notably:
"The group also is providing a glimpse at the road map of Office for Mac by announcing the return of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) in the next version."

WHich begs the question: what made the Mac BU think getting rid of VBA was a good idea in the
first place?

:)

Regards,

Patrick

My buddy Tim Zych (TZych) has finished building his super cool worksheet comparison tool, Workbook Compare. I've taken a look and it looks pretty powerful. For now Tim has decided to keep it freeware. Tim used to hang out here as an expert and thought you guys would like to check it out. You can check it out here:

   http://www.higherdata.com

Let him know what you think!

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

This actually awsome...i have couple of suggestions...

Saurabh...

Don't usually do this, but I find it so hard to believe that I'd welcome input from anyone who has the time to have a quick look at my very simple question:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_23424457.html

Patrick

I am pleased to announce that earlier today Microsoft announced MVP awards for 2008 for at least five of the Regulars: Kevin, Matt, Patrick M, and Rory. I haven't heard yet from Jim--which would make six.

It's a real tribute to the quality of support provided by the Regulars in the Excel Zone at Experts-Exchange. Microsoft values professionalism as the most important virtue. It also helps to be prolific, smart and know the product inside-out. And when I look at the quality of the Regulars, I'm sure that the MVP lead found it hard to figure out where to stop when picking so many from the same place.

It is worth noting that there are four MVP award dates: July 1, October 1, January 1 and April 1. This spreads out the workload of evaluating (or re-evaluating) all the nominees for the MVP Lead. It also means that there is a chance of adding to the list of honorees later this year.

Woohoo!

Brad

Hey Man...

You guys rock....Thats a gr8 news Party time....

Saurabh...

Go team! Congrats, guys - nice to see the "Woohoo" again too! ;)
Rory

While Brad indicated there were five awardees he failed to indicate who the fifth was. For those who are regulars, you of course know it's Brad. I'm going to take this moment once again to espouse just how influential Brad is on this zone and consequently the destinies of many of us here. When I first started answering questions about four years ago Brad was the king of the hill. He was the sheriff, the top expert, and was answering questions at a blistering rate. One member referred to Brad's working here as "shooting fish in a barrel".

But Brad wasn't just the fastest and most accurate gun. He mentored us, he was always fair, he taught us the intricacies of array formulas and how to post with dignity and respect for the Asker and the other Experts. He set the tone for the zone for as long as I can remember. And it's the tone - the demeanor and respect we have for the Members and our fellow Experts - that has caught the eye of Microsoft in addition to the sheer volume of questions answered. I really can't say where I would be if it wasn't for Brad but I can definitely say that he has helped me grow as an Expert, as a Microsoft MVP, and, most importantly, as a person.

As for Rory, June of 2009 is a ways down the road so it's time for a holiday. And you had better show up at the Summit. No more excuses.

Kevin

Hey Kevin...

I completely agree with you over that as i haven't interacted much with Brad till now but the way he posts and interacts with other experts always politely and the most important part he is always helpful and when no one is here you would find him here helping you out...

Saurabh..

I think the summit is out of the question next year, so I will have to hope the madness extends into 2010.
And I second your sentiments about Brad, which apply to your good self too - when you're not being a douche, obviously. :)
I have used many different forums over the years and rarely stay too long as the lack of etiquette gets to me (and I do mean 'etiquette' rather than 'netiquette'; plain old-fashioned manners and civility). This place is one of those rare exceptions and that's down to the fact that the people who hang around here are generally nice to each other; that, in turn, is down to you guys, for which I sincerely thank you (though my wife doesn't like you much!).
Rory

To: Brad, Rory, Kevin, Matt, Jim and Patrick M

Many Congratulations on your MVP awards - all well deserved.

Patrick A-B

Now I am REALLY curious. The Summit is not until March of next year, we have the exact dates, and you are still deciding at this time that you won't be going? What is it that is that important and that long term that leads you to that outcome so soon? Wife pregnant? Surely it can't be work related given the amount of time you spend keeping EE members happy. Dude, the last Summit was blast! Not something you want to miss too often.

Oh, and Rory, for what it's worth, I perceive your etiquette skills to be at the top of the heap too :-)

I cannot comment at this time. :)

Aha! I'll mark the date ;-)

Congrats guys!!!!

Jeroen

Jeroen,
I took a look at your member profile yesterday, and was impressed by the way you have rewritten it. It tells the reader more about you as a person, what you do in your day job, and the qualities you value about the site and its members. The links to collaborations between you and other experts on the site were a nice touch.

Well done!

Brad

Thanks Brad,
I wished I could spend more time here so I could add more value to my profile. At the end of last year I did very well and hoped I could get my 2M then, So it will be my goal for this year. Writing this made me aware that time flies even when your not on EE. Only time on EE counts as Im still not on the 2M.

The only part I currently change is when I made some cleanup proposals :)
At least in that way Im also involved in many questions.

Those of you with Excel 2007 might find the built-in help for names somewhat bizarre. Navigate to Formula and name basics...Working with names. The on-line help is the same as always--the treat is in the offline. Methinks an English major has run amok.

"What's in a name? That which we call a cell range, function, constant, or table would tally and toil just as sweetly..."

If you were a bit mystified a half dozen posts above, the penny dropped here: http:/Q_23571642.html#22021218

Hi Guys...Need your help over this....

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_23586114.html

Saurabh...

He's back and he still has it: http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_23625186.html#22168915

Hi Kevin,

The family and I are have relocated to London for a year or so while my company's offer for a major competitor plays out

Rachael (the baby face on my old dup master site) is now 5, and being the UK, she is attending school here. Back home she would have started in Jan 2009, over here her classmates started in Sept 2007. Even more scary is that my son, just having turned 3, starts nursery school for five days a week next month. They won't know what hit them.

London has been great, brilliant weather and much to see and do. Although we are a long way from home, which makes it a little hard on Lucy to fully occupy all her time without the normal social networks.

This recent work has seen me back into hands on excel model design, and a little bit of automation to manage the many different files floating around. So for the first time in a couple of years I'm dabbling in VBA again. I've only just seen Excel 2007 for the first time - purchased in case my model gets too large - and its going to take quite some time to acclimatise to the ribbon let alone the new functionality.

trust all is going well

Regards

Dave

Dave,

Welcome to Britain. I trust you and your family will enjoy your stay here. I do hope you manage to get out of London and see something else of Britain other than the capital even though it has plenty to look at. I live out on the Met line - about 30 minutes from Baker Street tube station - so visits to London are easy for us.

Our older daughter lives in Wapping (north bank of the Thames and east of Tower Bridge) near London's oldest pub - The Prospect of Whitby. It's worth a look and a drink as it's not far from St Catherine's Docks which in turn is near Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. After all you've got to do the standard rubber-necking stuff at some moment whilst you're here. Crown jewels and all that.

Have a great time.

Patrick

Thanks Patrick

We should grab a beer sometime,  pls shoot me an email

I ducked down to Brighton for a day recently. Beautiful spot, but I was completely taken back by the pebble beach, I am so accustomed to the sandy beaches back home that I had never considered the idea of people lying on pebbles. We have made lots of tube and bus trips to the likes of Greenwich & Hampton Heath, and the museums just down the road off Brompton St are brilliant.  When the work slows down we will get up to Scotland, Wales and Ireland as well

The other bright spot is being so close to Europe. We ducked off to Interlaken and then Salzburg for a quick break a few weeks ago. Whereas back home I am accustomed to driving 3000 kms ecah Christmas in a triangle to visit both sets of grandparents. Not having a car here is a very welcome change

Cheers

Dave

Dave,

I've emailed you through vbaexpress.com

Patrick

hey guys, we need some more help here -> http:/Q_23654024.html

Patrick,

Did you email my vbaexpress address - its a spam zone so I think I've missed it

Cheers

Dave

Dave,

I emailed you ages ago and so far, despite searching, have failed to discover your email address. I even considered emailing you at work but thought that would be intrusive. So I've been hoping you would return here. Where can I find your email address as it''s not in your profile. I did try signing up to your contact system but it seemed just a bit too complex to achieve something simple - so I've waited!

Patrick

Patrick,

work email is fine, thx for taking that into consideration

David dot Brett at  (take the company part from http://www.bhpbilliton.com)

Cheers

Dave

Dave,

Thanks for that. I'd guessed that was your email address as I had already discovered the name of the company you worked for as well as it's London HQ address. I will send you the email the straightaway.

Patrick

Dave,

As promised, I emailed you. Hope you received it.

Patrick

Patrick,

I did - I replied to you a few days back. I will resend

Cheers

Dave

Dave,

I believe my spam filter must have zapped the incoming email. Sorry about that.

May I ask you to send it again to the same address. I have modified my spam filter so that your email address is in the 'allow' list but just to make sure I receive it, could you also send it the same addressee but at googlemail.com.

Regards

Patrick

Another candidate for the Experts Exchange Excel addicts group meetings:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Q_23711197.html

Kevin

Dave,

I think you missed my last message here...

I believe my spam filter must have zapped the incoming email. Sorry about that.

May I ask you to send it again to the same address. I have modified my spam filter so that your email address is in the 'allow' list but just to make sure I receive it, could you also send it the same addressee but at googlemail.com.

Regards

Patrick

I've added some following tips on asking and answering questions to my user profile. I'd appreciate any Excel-specific suggestions or improvements you might be able to offer. I want us to have the highest quality zone in Experts-Exchange, and good questions and good answers play a large part in it.


Want to ask a better question?
1) Give us both the overall problem and the specific request. You may think that the best way to solve your overall problem would be if you only knew how to do xyz--but the people trying to help you have a whole lot of experience with Excel and just might know an even better way.
2) Many problems can be solved with either a macro or a formula/worksheet user interface tricks. You may get both approaches suggested. If for some reason, you absolutely have to have one or the other approach, please tell us that desire in your initial question.
3) Which version of Excel do you use? Always let us know, because the answer or the explanation frequently depends on it.
4) Whenever possible, post a sample workbook showing both the starting point and the desired results. Excel puts three worksheets by default in each workbook--this is a good reason for two of them. If your real data is confidential, consider posting made-up data that replicates the problem. We don't need a lot of data--10 or 20 properly selected lines is sufficient in most cases.
5) If you encounter an error message, please post its text. Let us know which line of code triggered it. If it only occurs with certain inputs, let us know that too.
6) If you have tried and failed to do something, please include your failed attempts in your sample workbook. We might be able to tweak it here and there more quickly than developing something from scratch.
7) Even though the steps to reproduce the problem are obvious to you, it may not be so obvious to someone opening your sample workbook. Which worksheet should we look at? Which cells? Which macro do we run?


Want to get a better answer to your question?
1) Pay attention to your In Box. You'll get responses within minutes in most cases. If additional information is requested, please provide it. If solutions have been proposed, please test them. Let us know of any shortcomings.
2) The more you interact with the experts, the better the answer will be. Let us know which parts you don't understand and which features are still missing from the suggestions. These interactions are more fun for the people trying to help--and since we are all volunteering our time, more fun is a good thing.
3) Review the suggestions made by all parties. The expert making the most posts doesn't necessarily have the best solution. Another expert might take pride in posting a complete answer the first time.


Picking the Answer
1) If more than one right answer is offered, which one will you actually use?
2) When more than one person offers the same suggestion, everyone understands if you pick the first embodiment. But if a later post offers supporting discussion that you found valuable, people will understand a split in points or even full credit if you explain your reasoning.
3) If you aren't completely happy with the suggestions made so far, keep the question open for another day. We have good experts in this zone from all around the world, and the one you need might be asleep or busy at his day job.


Want to get more "Good Answer" e-mails?
1) Test your suggestion before posting it. Make up data if the Asker didn't provide any. This allows you to catch mistakes in your suggestion as well as the two or three other errors that the Asker didn't mention in the original question.
2) If somebody else posts in a question you are working on, test their suggestion as well. Sometimes, it will be better than yours. Other times, you may realize that you and the other expert made different assumptions. If so, highlight the different assumptions so the Asker is aware of them.
3) Give credit to the other expert. Even if you developed your suggestion independently, acknowledge the similarities and discuss the improvements you are making.
4) Read the entire thread, including the posts by other experts. Before hitting that Submit button, make sure that your post offers either a palpably better solution--or that you provide additional information the Asker may find helpful. You'll find that posting good information in fewer threads will build you a better reputation as an expert.
5) Always post your formula and code in the Comment or Snippet. Even if you post a sample workbook, the formula and code should always appear in the thread too. This practice makes it easy for other people to scan the thread and realize that you already have matters under control. It also makes the thread more valuable in the EE database.
6) Add comments to those parts of your code that the Asker might need to change. Put textboxes on worksheets with instructions--I compose many EE Comments that way.
7) If you do post a workbook, delete the unnecessary worksheets.

Brad,

Nicely done.  The only thing I would add is to the "post a sample whenever possible" point.  I would expand
that a bit to say something like, "if you are worried about revealing confidential, proprietary, or otherwise
sensitive information, then make up some fake data".

Regards,

Patrick

Patrick,
Thanks!

I updated my verbage to reflect your suggestion.

Brad

Brad,

This is excellent.

It may be useful to separate out a brief etiquette piece in each section, ie for Askers covering proper question close-out wrt grading and point's sharing. You have covered the major etiquette points for Experts already (ie  credit to others, read the entire thread etc).

i sugest that Expert Point 4
"Make sure that your post offers a palpably better solution in one or more respects."
could be modified along the following lines
  .. .."If another Expert has 'answered' a question as asked, then you should only post if you can provide a palpably better solution, or if there are potential issues for others who may look to adapt or apply the solution beyond the immediate question. In either case it may be appropriate to preface your post with "not for points".

Cheers

Dave

Brad,

That's a good list. However, one question - How do you intend to bring it to everyone's attention? My comments are:

Under "Want to ask a better question?"

I believe it would sound better to change it to:

"...but the people trying to help you have a whole lot of experience with Excel and just might know an even better way.

Point 4 might benefit ffrom adding:

4) Whenever possible, post a sample workbook showing both the starting point and the desired results. Excel puts three worksheets by default in each workbook--this is a good reason for two of them. If your real data is confidential, consider posting made-up data that replicates the problem. However please submit only the minimum amount of data that illustrates the problem - that will minimise file size and speed up downloading.

Under "Want to get more "Good Answer" e-mails?"

It might be useful to put something like this in the list of do's (not sure Lynne Truss would approve of my use of the apostrophe)

n) If you need clarification from the Asker do not hesitate to ask for it. That can help the Asker define more accurately the problem that needs to be solved.

Patrick (A-B)

Patrick (A-B),
Thanks for the great suggestions! I tried to incorporate their gist in the original post.

My original intent was to make the suggestions part of my member profile. If EE permits, it wouldn't hurt to have links to them in the Excel Zone. They're Excel specific, and so would be less useful if part of the overall site FAQ.

I posted in this thread both to get feedback as well as to encourage the other regulars to repurpose the discussion as you see fit.

Brad

Brad,

Is this correct?

"Or rather with the "Microsoft Forms 2.0 Object Library". This library has issues, especially when you save the file with different versions of Excel (2007 was very bad, at least before the first SP)...."

That statement was made by 'harfang'. I've not encountered problems with it previously. I'd appreciate your opinions on the matter. I've closed the question in which he made the statement but all the same 'I hae me douts on the matter' as they might say in Scotland. The question was:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_23728533.html

Patrick

FWIW, I've never had issues with it. I have read of occasional problems for people using 2007 (but then there seem to be a lot of odd problems there) with workbooks created in previous versions, but I can't think of any offhand with any prior versions (other than possibly your question above!)
Rory

I concur with Rory. The only time I have version issues is when I reference the Word object library and for that I use late binding. Unfortunately, when using the DataObject object to use the clipboard, there is no way to use late binding that I have been able to discover. Fortunately, I have never had a problem with the Forms 2.0 library in 2007 or other versions.

Kevin

Patrick,
I've encountered the odd problem when using an ActiveX command button to run a macro doing stuff on a different worksheet--but rebooting always seemed to sort it out.

Kevin, however, views ActiveX controls with gimlet eye, in the same vein as Shared workbooks, rounding intermediate results or violating the sacred rules of User Interface design.

I'm glad you got the discussion with harfang straightened out. I very much enjoyed meeting him at the recent CORE conference in San Luis Obispo--and I'd hate to see two good friends remain at loggerheads.

Brad

Guys...I just have one query...When i am getting Invitation for these conferences..???

Saurabh...

Rory, Kevin and Brad,

Thanks for your quick and interesting responses. Even though the suggested solution seemed to fix the problem, I am still not convinced by harfang's explanation. Oh well, it's not that important.

Patrick

Saurabh - Eh? - Patrick

Saurabh - Only kidding... - Patrick

>Kevin, however, views ActiveX controls with gimlet eye.

Only on worksheets - they have numerous issues when enclosed in shape containers on a worksheet and are one of three main culprits of workbook corruption - the other two being excessive formatting and VBA code. When working with user forms you have to use ActiveX controls and, in that context, there are no real issues. Missing or lame functionality perhaps, but no issues.

Kevin

Patrick...

I dont get invitation to anywhere...and neither i got the key when i became genius...

Saurabh...

Saurabh,

I never got the key to the executive suite either. However I did receive a most excellent write-up from Brad, but when I passeed the 2 million mark no one even commented! Perhaps it's just expected once one's over the 1 million mark.

As for inivitaions well, I've no idea who issues them or on what basis they are issued. Perhaps you and I have the wrong type of passport. These ex-colonials have there own way of doing things.

Patrick

Patrick...

I didnt even get that...and you know what the worse part...Brad even wished me...see....

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_23496466.html

Hmm...and i know u working for 2 Million points...when you were there everywhere....

And Inivations...Hmm dont worry...im optimistic...see im 27...by the time i grow old...lets say 42 or 43...i would be the one sending invitations...and thats what my target is to achieve...

Saurabh...

Ah, the key...I think one of the other geniuses lost it. Too bad too, there are some great pics of us at some parties.

A month ago Experts Exchange invited a few prolific members to headquarters in San Luis Obispo California for a conference. They were hand selected from the list of Admins, Moderators, and Zone Advisors with a few additional members invited for their outstanding contributions. The primary objective was to learn ways to make the site better. Invitees were selected for their dedication, quality of service, and tenure. But, most importantly, for their ability to provide insight into the subtleties of how Experts Exchange works (and doesn't work) and their ability to articulate that insight in a productive and insightful manner. From what I understand, Experts Exchange will be having another conference next year. From all indications and if the site remains successful, it will be an annual event.

How do you get invited next year? I suggest continuing what you are doing. In addition, make yourself known to Experts Exchange by posting ideas for improving the site in the Feedback zone.

Kevin

>> These ex-colonials
I'm intrigued Patrick, pls expand ??

Ahh Kevin thanks for the insight...but anyways i know myself im still not there at that level because i need to learn a lot which im improvising and working hard upon and the day that i feel im there...i would get an invitation because my feelings generally come true...

Also i try my level best to improve my grammer and english..since its not my mother tongue...but i know i cant count that as an excuse...and there is always a scope of improvement no matter what...

You know the real problem with me is getting the visa...because its really tough to get a visa for usa out here...because of the laws and evertyhing...they are very stringent about it....no exceptions...

Saurabh...

And you know what...i think i have an advantage...because im ahead of you guys by GMT+5:30 hours...so i answer a question before even its asked..since im ahead... ;-) .... Just kidding... its just that when im here...mostly none of you are here..since its wee and odd hours for you guys...so get ample of opportunties to solve questions...with a ample amount of time to work upon....But there is an exception to that and which is Kevin...because he is here most of the times...no matter what... I really wonder what does he do...or what he eats..that he has so much of energy...

Saurabh...

Dave,

>I'm intrigued Patrick, pls expand ??

It's a gentle dig at the Americans for leaving the British Empire.

Patrick

Saurabh,

>And Inivations...Hmm dont worry...im optimistic...see im 27...by the time i grow old...lets say 42 or 43...i would be the one sending invitations...and thats what my target is to achieve...

Oh my goodness. I don't even fit on your scale of 'oldness'. I might hop the twig in the next few minutes, but if my grandparents are anything to go by, I've got another 30+ years to go and they lived well into their 90's.

You'll get that invitation - I have no doubt. Sheer determination and hard work will get you there.

Patrick

Kevin,
FYI, you can late bind the DataObject, I've just never seen the need really.
Rory

How?

I have searched high and low and taken apart the registry but can't find the name of the library object.

Kevin

I'll post when I get to work as I'm on a phone now and it's not code I keep in my head!

Something like this (haven't tested in 2007):

Public Sub CopyCellContents_Sub()
   Dim objData As Object
   Set objData = GetObject("New:{1C3B4210-F441-11CE-B9EA-00AA006B1A69}")
 
   'Same as f2+copy contents.
   
   With objData
      .SetText ActiveCell.Formula
      .PutInClipboard
   End With
 
End Sub
                                              

1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:

Well as a convict I'm in the same pack ...

Well, not really as until you have that referendum again you won't be a republic - which is what we should be anyway. Don't wish her any harm, but it's time for us to develop as a nation and pension-off the Queen - but then this is not the Politics forum.

Patrick...

You do fit in my defination of old...but its just that i dont want to live for so long...so thats why said 42 is old...otherwise 90+ is also not bad...

Saurabh...

Saurabh,

>You do fit in my definition of old...but it's just that I dont want to live for so long...

I predict that as the years pass by your views and aspirations will change.

Patrick

Live fast, die young, leave a beautiful spreadsheet. :)

All depends on your definition of 'young'. Mine is anyone younger than me.

Mine is (currently) anyone under the age of 40. :)

Patrick...

I agree with you over that as thought process changes with time...and im happy to know that i fit in defination of young for all of you guys...because im younger then all of you...

Rory....lol@ spreadsheet...

'Old' is like tomorrow.  It always changes with the dawn!

Chris

You are only as old as the ..... <insert your own str here>

>because im younger then all of you...

Where does that leave me?

I don't know - I'm only 14 but living a virtual life on the internet as a thirty-something geek...

Patrick...Didnt got you...

And yups i agree age is what you think and how old you consider your self to be...

>I'm only 14 but living a virtual life on the internet as a thirty-something geek...

Ah, but I'm re-discovering what it was like to be 18 again, but this time without the complications or concerns. :))

18 year olds are supposed to have concerns?? Now you tell me! :)

As I wrote it - I did wonder if I had many concerns at that age.

Rory said:
>>18 year olds are supposed to have concerns?? Now you tell me! :)

Patrick A-B said:
>>As I wrote it - I did wonder if I had many concerns at that age.

Well, at 18 I had "concerns", but looking back now at a bit more than twice that age, I have the wisdom to see
that those concerns were in actuality incredibly unimportant.

That's not to say that I have become wise, mind you--I may be twice as wise now as I was then, but seeing as
I only had about half a thimble-full of wisdom at 18, I'm still running short today :)

Patrick

Ah but at 18 there was soon to be supercalc ... excel what is that?   So since this is the excel regulars I perhaps ought to say that in hose days things were not so good since there was no excel but it's not a (pre) history zone either.

Chris

At 18 the pc was yet to be invented. At 22 I used a desktop electric calculator, a Burroughs tabulator (very unreliable), a monster computer or more often than not a slide rule and Stats/Log tables. As for a typewriter, I didn't even use one, let alone let alone own one. I was more au fait with a metalworking lathe than a keyboard.

OK, I was a bit premature, at 15 the desktop electronic calculator, (add/subtract/divide/multpily) appeared in a few select locations, the computing course needed the monster computer at ICI and then at about 21 fantastic machines like the Microtan 65 started to appear ... but they required more Shekels than I could command!

I don't think even this puts me in your bracket though Patrick :o)

Chris

Happy birthday Jaes!

We don't see you as much in the threads, but it is always a pleasure when you do post.

Brad

Many happy returns, Jaes (meaniing both returns here and of the day!)

Rory

As I sit here having watched the Dow gyrate wickedly in the last few hours I'm feeling a little relieved - as relieved as you can be when the world's biggest market just giave up 3.5%. But compared to the 7% plus slump not too much earlier, it's almost a win.

Any of you guys follow the market closely? The scale of the bank bail-outs and investment bank implosions is almost beyond comprehension. Till now I've been viewing this as a window of investment opportunity, but we seem to be moving to a place where the glue that holds the banking industry together is coming unstuck. It is truly soberingly remarkable.

Cheers

Dave

PS ... Patrick AB, sent you an email re catching up last week but we have continued our fine tradition of missing each other. Next week perhaps

It's the institutions playing games with themselves. Long term everything will be fine and there are bargains but be careful. There are no rules stating that a bargain today won't be more of a bargain tomorrow. If you buy with a five plus year horizon you will be fine. Europe looks to be in more trouble since they don't have any real centralized set of controls yet are sharing the Euro. Another way to look at things is that just about every financial institution that is in trouble is getting bought by other institutions that were not so risk prone. The real losers are the stockholders of the failed institutions. The markets are dropping in general as investors switch to metals and other instruments less likely to have adverse reactions to tightening credit markets.

All good fun.

What is really a hoot is to see our boy George get up and try and 'splain the mess to us. Good fodder for the comics.

Until now I thought we were seeing a financial sector specific contagion,and that largely the financial excesses were coming back to bite those who misunderstood or simply gambled on exotic securitisation.

> markets are dropping in general as investors switch to metals

That's what does scare me,  comoddities prices - sans Gold - are plummeting. Which should only be happening in a rational market if the BRIC growth story is in trouble. Hopefully this debt driven market is irrational .....

George does provide some light relief.

Maybe the cash is going into the mattress versus metals...who knows. Asian stocks and real-estate in China and India seem to be hot commodities.

Kevin said:
>>Long term everything will be fine and there are bargains but be careful. There are no rules stating that a bargain
>>today won't be more of a bargain tomorrow. If you buy with a five plus year horizon you will be fine.

Generally, I agree with Kevin, with some qualifiers...

1) I do not bother trying to identify bargains.  To put it simply, there is *no evidence* that professional fund managers
have a repeatable talent for beating market indexes, once you properly account for transaction costs, management
fees, and the impact of taxes.  (Active management tends to drive up capital gains taxes, compared to low-turnover
funds such as indexes.)  I put my money into broad index funds with the lowest expense ratios I can find.  Don't
even bother with mentioning Warren Buffett: the laws of probability tell you that if you get enough millions of people
investing, you are practically guaranteed to see a Warren Buffett come along.

2) Read 'Stocks for the Long Run' by Jeremy Siegel, a legendary professor at my alma mater, the Wharton School.
In a 1-year period, it's easy to lose money on stocks.  As the term expands, however, the likelihood of a negative
cumulative returns from stocks (assuming dividend reinvestment) goes down.  Siegel plotted the likelihood of losing
money over various holding periods based on historical performances.  For the real long term investors, take heart:
since 1802, there has never been a 20-year period in which US stocks have lost money.  (Indeed, Siegel finds that
over long holding periods, not only do stocks outperform bonds, they are also less risky, using variance in annual
returns as the standard measure of risk.  This is a counter-intuitive finding, because it turns the old risk-reward
trade-off on its head.)

3) Do not, do not, DO NOT try to time the market.  No one has a crystal ball that tells them when the lowest low
has come (time to buy!) or the highest high (time to sell!).  Instead, figure out what your 1-year, 5-year, 10-year,
20-year, etc. needs are and make a rational plan for how to get there.  If your plan calls for you to invest, say,
$15,500 this year (the regular limit for 401(k) contributions in 2008, so a good benchmark), do not invest it all
at once.  Instead, invest say 1/12th of that amount each month.  If you are planning to sell (perhaps because
you have to take a mandatory distribution from an IRA, or to rebalance your portfolio), try not to sell the whole
block at once; spread it out over a few months.  The fancy term for this is "dollar cost averaging".  Do not even
bother with looking at the day to day price movements--it'll just make you more emotional and less rational.

4) Pay attention to asset allocation, and match asset allocation to when you need your money and your own
risk tolerance.  For example, if I needed a sum of money in five years, I wouldn't bother with stocks--I would
go with a mix of cash/cash equivalents like CDs and bond funds.  OTOH, for my retirement accounts, I am
100% in stock funds.  (Being 37, I have the luxury of at least a 30 year time horizon.  As I near retirement age,
I will start moving some of that into bond funds.)  Check your portfolio at least once a year to make sure that
differential returns haven't skewed your asset allocation.

5) Diversify, diversify, diversify.

Be under no illusion, every part of the world will be affected. China and India will be no exception. The inter-dependance of the world's commercial and financial scene will ensure that everyone will feel the effect - obviously some more than others. The closer one is to the centres of financial greed the worse it will be.

>The closer one is to the centres of financial greed the worse it will be.

Why does that sound so good to me?

Thx for you comments Patrick. Broadly I agree with them other than I choose to be an active direct investor in stocks given my background and day job

My take is that if you are not leveraged then this is a buying opportunity.  Those with margin loans are forced sellers which is adding to the distress/volatilit

But when I look at my sector, and see a debt free iron ore company with long term price contracts trading at 2-3 times earnings then it's a "huh?" moment. And when I hear that the Australian Reserve has slashed interest rates by 1% in a single go then we are indeed living in "interesting" times.

Changing the tone a little

Patrick ..... just how often do you called Matthew? My guess is 3 times a week. Am I close?

Dave (aka Brett)

brettdj said:
>>Patrick ..... just how often do you called Matthew? My guess is 3 times a week. Am I close?

A week?  Sometimes it's at least that in a day :)

I'm used to it.  I had teachers in school who did it almost constantly...

People are quite slapdash, my wife once got called Brett in an email

I worked in a group that included a
David Joseph
Andrew Graham
Your truly
David Heath

... it caused havoc

I have binned around 5 resumes when people have applied to me with Dear Brett. But normally it's worse on the phone, people hear Brett last and it sticks.

So...Brett, Matt...what's for dinner?

Here is an appetiser for Matt ...... can you pls assist with this Access question, I jumped in a little early with the "Excel like" approach, and consequently I think the question has sunk from sight.

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Microsoft/Development/MS_Access/Access_Coding-Macros/Q_23805231.html

Now we have a drunken elf on the payroll.

PAYroll ... ey what!

Is it just me or have some of the newbies got attitude?

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Programming/Automation/Q_23825657.html#a22746065

Dave...

He is not a newbie he is 5 years old in EE...and its just that what i think he didnt understood kevin properly about what he is doing...and pasted the whole code...

Saurabh...

Yep. A few showed up this week.

Saurabh, he didn't see my second post.

May not be a newbie, but still got attitude! ;)

Hmm Kevin can be.....

Agree with rory on that.. and hey rory where you have been...dont see you online much...whats keeping you so busy...is it your cat..??

He's tired of trying to post before you, me, and Dave.

Probably shopping for strollers and diapers.

Combination of work and life. And sometimes a change of scenery is good to blow out the cobwebs. :)

I gave up trying to post before you long ago. Now I just try and distract you with irrelevant arguments so that others can have a go! :^P

Ha!

That last one wasn't so irrelevant...I'm working through my code putting in variables for forms.

Hmm rory...i guess you seriously got bored...thats why looked for change...that you got completely disappeared...

and you know what nothing works on kevin...no matter how much you keep him busy in something or other...he just manages to post before you do...and i wonder how does he manages to do that...

It's late - I mean irreverent, not irrelevant! ;)
It's obviously not working anyway as you're only 32,000 away from being able to finally put 'Savant' after the 'Idiot' in your title. 8^D

Saurabh,
I didn't completely disappear - just nothing like as active recently. It happens from time to time! :)

Hmmm ahh i see..and hey you had a boy or a girl.....?? and congrats for the newborn...party time...

You Brits can really be a hoot!

May you have many sleepless nights come January ;-)

Neither yet! Not due until January.

You can imagine how long I've been waiting to make that "joke"! ;)

Ahh i see...now no wonder thats why you not here.... anyways all the best to you...and me surely misses you since its not fun when you are not posting much... because when you are arround i need to make sure i have to be quick...but these days dave is there to ensure that... and kevin like always is here....

With Rory it's not about being quick, it's about posting crack solutions that make our stuff look like shit. Like Brad he loves to do that.

Be careful what you wish for - I'll be back trying to hoover up all the questions soon enough!

It's true - some of my solutions do look like I'm on crack.

Right. And you can afford three nannies, a cook, a laundry maid, and a couple of house cleaners. Oh, and a few gents to take the lovely Mrs. Rory to dinner and a show now and then.

Kevin i agree with you over that...apart from yours i need to get there knowledge base as well....

And nah you not gonna be back soon...attleast for couple of months because you are busy..and even if you are back..its fun..because...there is lot of learn from you....

Hey Kevin...i can afford all the three nannies out here in India...its really cheap...we already have a maid to do the cleaning job...which comes daily...and she charges as less as $15 dollars for the month...

>It's true - some of my solutions do look like I'm on crack.

Oh, that's good. The dudes on crack are Saurabh and me as we frantically toss crap on the walls 23.5 hours a day hoping something doesn't get a compile error and that the other guy is taking his daily nap.

Which is why you have 18 hours a day to play video games and post on EE. We need to find you a girlfriend.

>>Oh, that's good. The dudes on crack are Saurabh and me as we frantically toss crap on the walls 23.5 hours a day hoping something doesn't get a compile error and that the other guy is taking his daily nap.

Right, like either of you sleep for that long in a day. :)

LOL - i love it!

Kevin...you forgot love to watch movies as well..i got close to collection of 500+ dvds...talk about a movie and i have that....

and yes about the crack i agree...because see this guy...prasad..im gonna kill him one day for sure...he has 8 pending questions to be closed and all of them have answers been done...and already asked him about it..but still no action... next time i find his question...im gonna make sure he closes his earlier ones before this one gets resolved...this the link about what i meant...

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_23812992.html

and a gf for me...hmm i dont want one...anyways my parents looking for a match for me..may be by next year...

I'm trying to resist making an awful pun about getting some Preparation H to help with your compiles.

Guys i need to ask you something....its like the old xbox 360 ones which are non falcon ones...is there any good way arround for ring of death...because mine shows ring of death after every 2-3 weeks..and already have got it repaired thrice...and this the fourth time i has gone for repairs...

And on that note, I'll get my coat. Later, propellor-heads. :)

I don't do games...sorry. Last time I played a game was Myst and I was AWOL for two weeks. Never do that again.

Can someone with xl2007 take a look at this question?

http:/Q_23827026.html

Wayne

And at this point someone thought they could eat the bones of the cow
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_23834969.html#a22771881

We have a new hotshot in the room:

http:Q_23840759.html#a22786478
http:Q_23839939.html#a22787305

I like that formula almost as much as I hate Date questions. And that's a lot of like.

It would be interesting to see if he could pose another solution to http://www.experts-exchange.com/Q_23835174.html

Yep. Only problem is he is not being very social...yet. We like social, don't we :-)

Barry is VERY good with formulas!

Barry is a Mr Excel MVP. He is also active on OzGrid and ExcelForum.

That formula is impressive, but it is also pretty well spread around the web. Although I have not seen that trick before myself (or did and forgot which is more likely), the "=SUM(INT((WEEKDAY(" business is used to do a lot of different date tricks.

Not been ignoring you all - just been away in China for the last 17 days.

Dave and Patrick M - I can't recall being called Matthew.

All,

Anyone feeling qualified to comment on integrating Access and Excel, please have a look at my question here:
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Microsoft/Development/MS_Access/Q_23861610.html

Thanks,

Patrick

Dave,

Quick check of emails - when you have a moment.

Patrick

Hey, boys and girls, another party:

   http:Q_23875657.html

I have an amendment to an earlier observation I made about Barry's post here:

   http:Q_23839939.html#a22787305

I now have it on first hand authority that the "=SUM(INT((WEEKDAY(" technique was created and first published by Barry himself. He has informed me that he will be a little more forthcoming with his real self in the very near future. In fact, I believe he has a kitty...or a wry sense of humor...or both:

   http:Q_23880102.html#a22891518

Kevin

Dude, I think you have abandinment issues. ;)

and FYI, Barry Houdini is not his real name. It's Larry. :)

Right. And my real name is Dick.

When Barry tells me his name is Larry or Harry or Bubba then I'll change my notes. Until then it's Barry. Even Barry thinks it's Barry.

Abandonment issues? Wishful thinking on your part maybe. I do miss you but Saurabh keeps me very distracted these days. The only abandonment related issue I have is with regard to the poignant absence of normal Excel menu bars.

Patrik AB - got it, will reply to you today post my morning meetings

Oh dear - have you upgraded then? (and I use 'up' in the loosest sense)

Ha! (that's hehehehe in the land of chicken tikka.)

I run 97 though 2007 concurrently on all my boxes.

I was kidding - as I usually do - I'm so lost in 2007 that I keep my default association set to run 2003. I even have a .bat script on my desktop to reset that association whenever 2007 tries to take it back.

Ribbons (the non-configurable kind) and no VBA in Mac Office 2008! What were they thinking!

I think the only purpose of the Office 2008 release was to give 2007 users something to feel better about. ;)

> I even have a .bat script on my desktop to reset that association whenever 2007 tries to take it back
Excellent, I'm being driven mad by 2007 opening by default.

Now Saurabh .. how about a follow-up to Kevin's hyperlink. And I don't want to talk about cricket.

.bat:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 2003\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE" /RegServer

Pretty simple, really.

Yes, Saurabh, just what is the story?

[ducking and running for cover...]

Thanks Kevin,

I'm a little embarrassed really, I shouldn't be so protective of those formulas, I've half-inched a few in my time...........

As for the name, I did suggest (in jest) one time that my real name was Larry. It isn't. I go by the pseudonym "daddylonglegs" in a couple of places........

Given that Rory seems to be spending much of his time at MrExcel these days, I thought I'd engineer an exchange deal, you get me instead..........sorry!

Still, that's enough about me, what's happening in the real world?

>I shouldn't be so protective of those formulas

Is there any possibility you CAN be protective? Once we post our magic that's the end. After that it's just our word against all the other Excel jocks out there. Put another way, in the past I've thought I had created some little unique nuggets only to find out later that Bob or Shane or Chip or Dick or some other jock already posted the same a year before. All good fun.

>I did suggest (in jest) one time that my real name was Larry. It isn't.

Ha! Take that Rory! Rory, like me, is a sucker for misinformation. I've been had a number of times. But the good news is you have a sense of humor. Here is an example of Rory's:

   http:Q_23509410.html#a21851394

Not too bad for someone who doesn't even know what his job title means.

>I thought I'd engineer an exchange deal, you get me instead..........sorry!

No apology necessary. Rory was getting on our nerves anyway with his silly fish n' chips humor and abusive use of the word "dude". Wait, you're a Brit too! Yikes! Patrick (AB), Nigel (but he's a ghost), Geoff (probably being held at gunpoint somewhere), Chris, Dave (pretending), Rory, and now you. Don't we have hiring quotas?

>Still, that's enough about me, what's happening in the real world?

Sorry? I don't understand.

Dave..

The hyperlink...what about that buddy...i just liked her...and asked Kevin who is she..since i liked her...and thats about it....

Kevin...

What story..??

The story you just told. Stories don't need to be long, just entertaining. And, yes, that's entertaining considering the usual droll gunk that is posted here every day.

Saurabh,

Just pulling your leg. :)

I'm ready to talk cricket now ...

Cheers

Dave

Barry/Larry/Harry,

I think I've seen daddylonglegs at excelforum.com? Another one to watch out for... :)

Rory

Kevin,

Why/how are you following me? What does it mean - it sounds creepy! :)

Rory

rorya said:
>>Why/how are you following me? What does it mean - it sounds creepy! :)

It's a new feature EE just rolled out.  Kevin is following you because he thinks he might learn something :)

Patrick

He might - but it won't be anything useful! :)

Ah, I've finally got my very own stalker...

rorya said:
>>Ah, I've finally got my very own stalker...

Just be glad it's not keilah or bsharath :)

"We need to talk about Kevin"  ........

>> Just be glad it's not keilah or bsharath :)

I miss the old days when you could see the poster's name before you bothered reading a question. With those two it's just Click, "oh", Back. (though I can usually tell sharath's from the title!!) :^P

>>though I can usually tell sharath's from the title!!

or the duplicate questions!

>>I miss the old days when you could see the poster's name before you bothered reading a question.

That's just one reason why I always use QuickEE :)

I can't at work though...

Patrick - you should try EE Tools. Only available to those with the privs, but it has many of QEE's features and is far less prone to errors when EE changes something.

Rory, you need to take the IT dude out to lunch and get the proxy server address and password. Get that and you are all set.

Wayne, why do you think Rory can't use the tool at work? Are not all the requests HTTP?

Yes, I'm a stalker. I'm trying to figure out what this new feature means and how it works. Rory, how did you find out I was stalking you? Email? What else do you see?

Kevin,

I don't think they are email notifs when someone starts following you.  However...

1) If a member is following you, it shows up on your profile
2) "Badger" types like Admins, Mods, and ZAPEs can follow in stealth mode, so you don't know they're following
you (unless you have similar privileges)
3) You can block a member who is following you (but you cannot block a "badger"--you may think you've blocked
the badger, but they're still following you)

..... can we get a new thread. I'm getting RSI.

Doesn't QuickEE involve some sort of installation? That's what I can't do. I'll just carry on pressing f5 like a loon.

I saw you in my profile - didn't think it was very subtle stalking!

Dave - God yes - this one takes *ages* to scroll thorugh on my phone!! :)

I'll start the new thread.

So all the "follow" function really does is provide a quick search function. That doesn't seem like much value to me - especially considering that the real search function should be fixed soon. Or do any of you think it should be anything more than what it is? Options to be notified?

Time to ping J.

Wayne - a dumb question

Where do I get EE Tools so that I can keep up with my Indian friend (who I secretly suspect is a coke/caffeine/ice addict)

Patrick, I'd forgotten all about the badgers! I must get back to the lounge

>I must get back to the lounge.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

>Where do I get EE Tools

http://quickee.dabas.net.au/publish.htm

thx for the link

Are there any right wingers left in the lounge these days?
Not to mention Shek v BSOD,   CobolDinosaur v EE ......