I used a few months ago ARCGis MAPS to produce maps from excel data. One of the things that annoyed me back then was that whatever change happened to the data affected the produced layer in the excel add-on of ArcGIS in Excel (not the webclient, I wasn't using it yet at that point). Like, filtering the table containing the data would make it so all filtered values would disappear from the map and so on, changing a zipcode/city name would move the dot, etc.
While it did cost me lots of credits back when I wasn't aware about it, now that I want to make use of it to correct a few mistakes, it won't update the layer! I have billing addresses that don't match the delivery addresses that I couldn't spot ahead of creating the layer. So I thought of just updating them and be done with it, just like the tool itself does when it can't find a location due to wrong zipcodes/city names etc. Recreating the layers (there are a few) would cost me a lot of credits so I'd like to avoid it.
I looked around in the webclient parameters, but couldn't find anything. I did not upload the map and layers yet, and the data format used is table (not designated/named range).
Can anyone help me?
Related
I've been scouring the internet this morning to find an answer to this to no avail.
Problem: We have a workbook that I've built that is populated using an OData feed from our database software.
As we enter more information into our database the reports that I've built in Excel grow and expand.
So here is my question. Without having to go in and manually correct the print area, is there a way to make it "grow" automatically as more data is entered?
I realize that the obvious solution would be just to go in and.correct them manually myself, but I never know when my boss is going to pull the reports and our data is populated all hours.
I have a feature that downloads things to an xls file using Apache POI. Mostly it works. But on one particular database, the resulting files are corrupted and won't open in Excel. I get the message "We found a problem with some content in 'DownloadFoo.xls'. Do you want us to try to recover as much as we can? If you trust the source of this workbook, click Yes." . Clicking yes results in all the formatting, data validation, etc being stripped out. On the other hand, if I open the file in Open Office Calc and save it, it's fine and can be opened in Excel from then on. (The people who want to use these files aren't allowed to download Open Office Calc, so this is not considered an acceptable workaround.)
I have tried narrowing it down to see which data is causing the problem, but it seems to occur whenever 10 or more items are downloaded, regardless of which items they are. (On other databases, it's fine to download 100+). Excluding some of the columns helps, but they are perfectly innocuous looking columns (and virtually identical to other columns which are fine) so this still hasn't got me to the bottom of it.
Are there any techniques I could use to find out what Excel has a problem with in the corrupted spreadsheets?
I can't make major changes like getting it to download to xlsx instead as this feature is going to be scrapped and replaced with something completely different in the near future, so I'd like to just focus on the problem at hand.
It turns out that the solution to the problem was to reset the data validation lists more often. Quite a lot of the cells in my spreadsheet have data validation. When the data validation lists are longer, they are stored on a hidden sheet. If several cells need the same validation, I try to get them referencing the same list in order to not write out too much stuff on the hidden sheet. However Excel apparently dislikes it when too many cells reference the same list- it's not against the rules as far as I can tell, but it doesn't like it anyway. When I changed it to rewrite the validation lists for every 5 items, it started working.
The reason this database was different was that the items had an unusually high number of subitems, so they occupied a lot of rows even though it didn't seem like many things were being downloaded. Some of the problem columns just had true or false validation rather than using the lists on the hidden sheet, so I don't know what that was about, but resetting the validation lists helped anyway.
This doesn't really answer my question as I never managed to get any information from Excel about what the problem was, or use a particular technique, it was just a series of coincidental findings. I'm putting it here anyway in case anyone else has a similar problem. Also the thing that started me on the right track was finding an old comment when double checking that it doesn't do anything different for over 10 items (it doesn't) in response to Andrew Morton's comment, so thanks Andrew!
We get at least 20 queries a day on an average from our clients, where in we have to open and look at data on 4 to 5 Excel sheets to answer them. questions such as what is my available balance, am i eligible for this etc. All our clients are connected to our intranet and have access to internet. I was wondering is there a way where we can develop a front end app (do not have budget for MS VB or any other) either in excel or any other to connect these 4 to 5 excel sheets to retrieve the data in response to queries (e.g. using perhaps some if and true/false queries). I am not an advanced Excel user but would be great for an advice from tech experts.
Yes, i wouldn't call it an app but consider a worksheet like a dashboard. You can have a cell for entering client name, and then use formulas to look up relevant information of the name entered. The cosmetic and arrangement of the information retrieved and published on the dashboard is up to you and of course do consider investing some time in the looks and feel if you want to enjoy using it.
Things you may consider are:
Place the files are kept and file name convention
because your dashboard will look for information in external workbooks, ensure that the files are saved in a fixed directory and have a specific file name. if the external files are updated from time to time by other folks, let them know too that they have to save it in a particular folder with a specific name format.
Properly structure the source of data
Format you data source into tables so that it is easier for use with formulas. Throw away titles if any in the data source worksheet. Use tools like "Table" under the INSERT tab. When data are properly organized, they can be easily looked up using formulas such as VLOOKUP, SUMIFS, MATCH-INDEX, and COUNTIF.
Be good with formulas
Since we have no budget for VB, then good formulas will be needed. There are plenty of help on the internet for this I think you'll have no problem in it.
Employ sanitary check measure
It is difficult to tell if our formula isn't functioning properly when we have no counter check measure. Certainly you want to give your clients accurate information. One way to check is, think of alternative ways to get the information wanted and check if it matches to the first way. Another way is to retrieve a sequence of related information to be put on the dashboard, then do simple calculation to check if the numbers add up. Use conditional formatting to highlight errors if necessary.
I think these are key consideration, there may be more, but this is what i can think of for the moment.
I have created 2 columns, the first has a category of a system using data validation, and the second has the description and failures of that system.
The purpose of that is to open a malfunction on some parts.
In a different sheet I wish to do the same only this time I want to choose the system and the description will automatically appear in the next column showing me all the malfunctions I have written on this system.
I am not very good at all the functions of excel. but I still searched for one that might help me. I have tried using the DGET function but it got me nowhere.
Perhaps try the solution here - it's a bit tricky to explain without copy-pasting the whole thing:
https://superuser.com/questions/536234/excel-how-to-vlookup-to-return-multiple-values
Also take a look at vlookup() if you're working across spreadsheets.
As expected, all of the responses you've seen ehere - and probably elsewhere - are ponyers to VLookup, or a refusal to answer your question.
I'm guessing that you're using DGET() because you need to retrieve data from one named column, using a match for a search term in another named column; and you're that because you can't rely on column ordinals or addresses - you have to do it by name.
VLookup won't do that for you: not without extremely complex and fragile array formulae.
The bad news is: Microsoft NEVER published a working example of a DGET() formula or any corresponding VBA Worksheet Function code.
There's page after page of descriptive text and general explanation in the helpfiles and on MSDN: but no working example. Nobody in Redmond ever sat down and made the DGET() function work with a reproducible set of function parameters and published a screen-shot the working formula.
I'll let you guess why that is.
Maybe there's an example somewhere that is, in effect, a VLookup implemented for known column ordinals using DGET(). If there is, I never found it and you won't either: and it would, of course, be useless for any application where you're working with field names instead of known ordinals.
What you need to do is capture the tabulated data range, with field names in the top row, and pass it to a SQL query using ADODB or MS-Query. That bad new for that is that all the MS-JET Excel drivers have a fatal memory leak.
After that fails, you're left exporting the data somewhere that a proper database app can run the SQL: and that's actually the right thing to do, because your attempt at using DGET() is a relational data query.
If you're left with the need to do this entirely in Excel, you have reached a level of desperation normally associated with the last survivor of an airplane crash who, having devoured the charred remains of his unlucky fellow passengers, is finally forced to contemplate the awful exigency of opening and eating the inflight catering meals.
The grisly details for the equivalent in Excel are a Horrible Hack published here:
http://excellerando.blogspot.com/2014/09/from-time-to-time-it-necessary-to.html
My current employer (to remain nameless) has a collection of incredibly sophisticated Microsoft Excel 2003 worksheets (developed by contractors, also to remain nameless).
The employer is replacing the Excel-based solution with a SalesForce-based solution (developed by other contractors, likewise to remain unnamed). The SalesForce solution is also very complex using dozens of related objects and "Dynamic SOQL" to contain the data and formulas which previously was contained in the Excel-based solution.
The employer's problem, which has become my problem, is that the data from the Excel spreadsheets needs to be meticulously and tediously recreated in .CSV files so it can be imported into SalesForce.
While I've recently learned I can use CTRL-` to review formulas in Excel, this doesn't solve the problem that variables in Excel have cryptic names like $O$15. If I'm lucky, when I investigate $O$15, I'll find some metadata explaining if n cells up and/or some other data m cells to the left, and/or (in rare instances) there may be a comment on the cell.
Patterns within the Excel spreadsheets are very limited, rarely lasting more than 6 concurrent rows or columns and no two sheets which need to be imported have much similarity.
Documentation of all systems are very limited.
Without my revealing any confidential data, does anyone have any good ideas how I might optimize my workflow?
It's not clear exactly what you need to do: here are 3 possible scenarios, requiring increasing knowledge of Excel.
1. If all you want is to convert the Excel spreadsheets into CSV format then just save the worksheets as CSVs.
2. If you just want the data and not the formulae then it would be simple (using VBA) to output anything that isn't a formula (the cell.Formula won't start with =).
3. If you need to create a linkage excel-->csv-->existing Salesforce objects/SOQL then you will need to understand both the Excel Spreadsheets and the Salesforce objects/SOQL that have been created. This will be difficult unless you have good knowledge and experience of Excel and also understand what the salesforce App requires.
Brian, if you're still working on this, here's one way to approach the problem. I use this kind of process often for updating data between SFDC and marketing automation apps.
1) Analyze the formulae that you're re-creating in Salesforce.com to determine what base data fields you need (stuff that doesn't have to be calculated from something else.
2) Find those columns/rows in your spreadsheets and use Paste Special -> Values in a new spreadsheet to create an upload file with values instead of formulae that you need for each data area (leads, prospects, accounts, etc.)
3) If you have to associate the info with leads or contacts or accounts and you have already uploaded or created those records in Salesforce.com, be sure to export them with their ID numbers. That makes it easy to use the vlookup formula in Excel to match up fields that you need to add and then re-upload the data into Salesforce.
Like data cleaning, this can be a tedious process. But if you take it step by step it shouldn't be too hard. Good luck.