I've been wanting to do like the creator of Aeon of Strife did to Starcraft (or Defense of the Ancients to Warcraft III) by jerry-rigging elements of Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition into a more Rogue-like system. I've recorded all the class features for the system in a spreadsheet. I'm looking for a solution that will pick, in sequence: a section of the spreadsheet with a defined row and column limit, a row within that section, a column within that row, then print what's in that cell. I'm unaware of how different Excel and LibreOffice Calc are for syntax and mathematic functionality, I'm using LibreOffice, if you know how to solve my issue in Excel I'd appreciate that as well.
I haven't really tried to solve this issue, as I don't personally know how to use the mathematic functions of spreadsheets.
Related
I have a spreadsheet I need to make in Google Sheets. The source of some of the data is exported to an Excel sheet. The data arrives in a dd/mm/yyyy format and I need to display it in a MON d format (Ex Sep 5).
The problem is both excel and sheets look at the date that arrives and think it is mm/dd/yyyy.
For example, 02/08/2022 is believed to be Febuary 8 even though it should be Aug 2. The problem then arises that neither of these platforms end up knowing how to convert this to Aug 2 and I end up having to do this manually.
Does anyone know how to get around this?
I have tried adjusting the format of the date, as well as using DateValue to convert (this fails since it understands the date as mm/dd/yyyy even when it is dd/mm/yyyy).
Any leads would be appreciated!
Thanks!
In Google Sheets, choose File > Settings > Locale and select a locale that uses the dd/mm/yyyy date format, before importing the data. You can then format the date column the way you prefer.
in gs:
=TEXT(REGEXREPLACE(A1&""; "(\d+)\/(\d+)\/(\d+)"; "$1/$1/$3"); "mmm d")
Try the following and format the result to your liking
=INDEX(IF(ISNUMBER(U2:U5),U2:U5,
IF(U2:U5=DATEVALUE("1899-12-30"),,
(MID(U2:U5,4,3)&LEFT(U2:U5,3)&RIGHT(U2:U5,4))*1)))
(Do adjust the formula according to your ranges and locale)
Functions used:
INDEX
IF
DATEVALUE
ISNUMBER
TRUNC
MID
LEFT
RIGHT
Well, for a formulaic solution, if the date is in A1, then the following places the correct date in B1:
=DATEVALUE(TEXT(A1,"DD/MM/YYYY"))
The TEXT function makes a string that will be the same form as your imported string out of the date produced during import. DATEVALUE then gives the proper date you desired.
The trick is in the TEXT step in which you reverse month and day in the string for DATEVALUE.
Naturally, instead of a helper column, it could just be wrapped around any reference to a date from column A, though one would have to remember to do so for all the years the spreadsheet is in use.
If you are importing, not just opening a .CSV file via File|Open and going from there, you have an opportunity to solve all your problems. You use the Ribbon menuing system's Data menu, select the very leftmost thing, Get Data and from the (no arguing THIS isn't a menu) menu that drops down, Legacy Wizards, then finally From Text (Legacy) which will open the old Excel Import Wizard. (You may notice this is very like the Data|Text to Columns Ribbon menu choice and that is because that choice is the old wizard minus the steps at the start that go looking to another file for the data because it knows, by law, that it has to already be in the spreadsheet... in other words, it looks the same because it IS the same.)
Then make selections for the first couple dialogs it presents you to get to the dialog in which you tell it to import columns as whatever: general (let Excel decide), text, date, and do not import. Choose Date and make the selection of DMY to import them properly as you desire them to be so you are never presented with the problem at all.
As you might guess, you can use the abbreviated wizard via the "Text to Columns" feature to do the same thing after import when you see they are reversed. Since it is a single column of data, the result will overwrite the original simplifying your work.
Why does this happen at all? Well, the "locale" folks have the idea. When Excel imports numbers that are in a form it recognizes could be a date, it looks to the operating system settings for the selected ways dates are understood. So if your operating system believes a date should be displayed "Month Day, Year" and Excel has a set of data it thinks fits that mold, it will convert them all using it. So you get those Feb 8's rather than Aug 2's.
Interestingly, it does two other things of note:
It looks at 8, count 'em, 8 rows of data to decide the data fits the pattern. Even with 1,000,000 rows to import, it looks at... 8.
Then it does them ALL as if God himself wrote the "8"... and dates like 25/03/2022 get imported as text not a real date, because they (oh, obviously) can't be dates... "25" can't be a month!
It IS possible to change settings (DEEP settings) to make Excel consider X number of rows in a data set before deciding such things. I found them here, on the internet, once upon a time, though I shouldn't like trying to find them again. It will consider up to a million rows in such an import, but... that'd make it pret-ty slow. And that's a million rows for EACH data column. I won't even say that "adds up" - I'll point out it "multiplies up."
Another technique is to add some number of starting rows to force the desired pattern onto the import. I've heard it works in TIME column imports so it ought to in DATE column imports but I've not verified such.
My bet is you will find the use of the "Text to Columns" feature of most use if you can use a hands-on approach - it does require literal action on your part, but is a fast operation. If you will see others using the spreadsheet though... well, you need a formulaic solution or a VBA one (macro with button for them to have some fun clicking as their reward for doing what they were trained to do instead of complaining to the boss you make bad spreadsheets). For a formulaic solution, the above formula is simple.
Last thought though: there's no error-checking and error-overcoming in it. So a date like "25/03/2022" in the data that imported as literal text is a problem. For handling the latter, an up-to-date approach could be:
=IF(TYPE(A1)=1,DATEVALUE(TEXT(A1,"dd/mm/yyyy")),DATE(INDEX(TEXTSPLIT(A1,"/"),1,3),INDEX(TEXTSPLIT(A1,"/"),1,2),INDEX(TEXTSPLIT(A1,"/"),1,1)))
in which the DATE(etc. portion handles finding text of the "25/03/2022" kind. Lots of less up-to-date ways to split the text Excel would have placed in the column, but since demonstrating what to do if it existed was the point, I took the easy way out. (Tried for a simple version but it wouldn't take INDEX(TEXTSPLIT(A1,"/"),1,{3,2,1}) from me for the input parameters to DATE.) TYPE will give a 1 if Excel imported a datum as a date (number), and a 2 if brought in as text. If empty or strange strings could exist, you'll need to deal with what those present you as well.
This may be impossible, but I am trying to create a baseball fielding lineup generator that has a few constraints provided by the league (ie. must play twice in infield, twice in outfield, no repeats at any position). I think this would be fairly simple task using any programming language, but I am designing this for my 70yo uncle and he can basically only use excel with no macros. So I can't brute force my way through the problem and I don't think I understand the mathematics behind the problem well enough to even know if there is a excel formulaic solution.
At it's essence it's a Sudoku creator and solver with no repeats in the rows or columns. I have an ok solution for the infield/outfield part via ranking the individuals by position.
Recursively calculating with F9 is ok for the solution since this is just a change in the options menu, but the last time I sent him a macro his university MS account wouldn't let him run it or change the settings.
Well, I have plenty of other info and have gotten close to solutions using huge nested IFs, but this relatively brute force method seems to be pretty dumb and is not giving great solutions.
Thanks for any help!
Well if your uncle has access to Excel 365 (sounds like a big if), you could use sorting to remove players already used in a given row or column, e.g. like this copied down and across from B2:
=LET(range,$L$2:$L$27,
choice,IF(COUNTIF(B$1:B1,range)+COUNTIF($A2:A2,range)=0,range),
count,COUNT(choice),
sort,SORT(choice),
INDEX(sort,RANDBETWEEN(1,count)))
If the players were given names instead of numbers, you could try
=LET(range,$L$2:$L$27,
choice,IF(COUNTIF(B$1:B1,range)+COUNTIF($A2:A2,range)=0,range),
count,SUM(--ISTEXT(choice)),
sort,SORT(choice),
INDEX(sort,RANDBETWEEN(1,count)))
I made a dummy version (fake names and extremely shortened) of the 2 spreadsheets I'm working with this spread sheets
Background:
I'm automating the data between Contracts and our Accounting Team's template. Note that neither of these spreadsheet's formats can budge so that why I'm stuck. It's a clunky process that I am trying to automate. The main source of data is the "Contracts" tab. Let's say out of the 300 subcontractors projects, in the week of 1/24/2019 my coworker approved 130 of the projects. The logic of what I am trying to accomplish:
In the Contracts tab, if Column R is "Yes"--
In the "Accounting Template" tab (the one with formulas) Column B, pull all the cells of Contracts!A of the vendors we are set to pay.
The same applies to Template! (a nickname for the path) Column M, pull the specific contract ID's of the approved Contract ID's from Contracts!C.
Note I intentionally showed that my fake Puppies program is NOT approved to get their payment, this will help demonstrate how to resolve my issue
My key issue is that the Accounting Template skips every 3 rows for the Project, and the Contracts row has Project day every single row. So, for Template!A5, I am pulling data from Contracts!A2, and Template!A8 I am pulling data from Contracts!A3, etc.
I was able to (sort of) make this work with an offset, row and index match:
=OFFSET(INDEX(Contracts!$C$2:$C$167,MATCH(ROWS(Contracts!$A$2:A17),Contracts!$AB$2:$AB$167,0)),-10,0)
See that negative -10? For each new 3rd row I am starting at template, I'm manually changing it to -10, -12, -14, etc etc. Not exactly sophisticated.
Looking at how offset and row work, it looks as though they heavily rely on the coordinates of cells in the Contracts workbook. However, I ideally am looking to do this:
=IF(Contracts!R2="Yes",OFFSET(INDEX(Contracts!$C$2:$C$167,MATCH(ROWS(Contracts!$A$2:A5),Contracts!$AB$2:$AB$167,0)),-2,0))
However, once I throw a conditional (IF) in the mix, that reorientating the rows of my offset match. Are there better formulas for what I am trying to accomplish? A VBA script that could accomplish this IF, INDEX, MATCH, OFFSET, ROW dream of mine? I'm not married to either of these formulas.
I've perused a few VBAs but nothing seems to have a conditional like IF as a component.
EDIT:
Per a request, adding screenshots. There's also a Google Sheet link:
Contracts tab, purposely hiding irrelevant columns:
Accounting Template Tab:
I'd do it with VBA, but this formula example might help you start. If your issue is basically turning horizontal data into vertical data and you have a fixed interval of 3 rows. You will need to adapt the formulae for your actual set up.
The formulas used are:
F1 and down =IF(MOD(ROW()-1,3)=0,INDEX($A$1:$A$3,(ROW()+2)/3),"")
G1 and down =INDEX($B$1:$D$3,CEILING(ROW(),3)/3,1+MOD(ROWS($G$1:G1)-1,3))
I'm sure there are better ways ...
I am not so familiar with how programming works (only a few attempts with Java) and since i am currently studying at a gymnasium (with focus on economics) i would like some help for how i can create an excel-template for my needs. However i can not figur out how to do so. I know how some of the basic macros functions in excel, but i would like do the following for my template:
1) Input some data (i think manually would be to prefer since i am often working with pictures). The data is some diffrent numbers form an annually report.
2) The data should then be used to calculate some different financial key figures (i know how to do this as well).
I don't know how to do the following
3) When the key figures have been calculated and the change from year to year also have been calculated, i would like to use some basic sentences to comment on the numbers: E.g. "The key figure xxxx has gone up by xx% over xx% years. This development is caused by the xx... [and so on]"
3.1) I would like the template to be able to comment on change over the key figures over the entire period, the biggest changes over the period (both ups and downs), the lowest and highest point on the period.
4) Export the text with the comments to a word document from the excel-spreadsheet.
I don't know which commands/functions i would need to use and how to use them if it is even possible to do in excel (but i'm willing to learn this by myself).
You don't necessarily need programming. Simple formula within cells could do this.
="The key figure " & A1 & " has gone up by " & B1 & "% over..."
You can use it with some IF statements that determines if the figure has gone up or down. IF(A1<0, "down","up"), this can give your commentary a bit of flexibility.
You probably don't need to export to word either, you can link the excel table to word. So every time the spreadsheet updates, then the content of word updates.
I am using Surveymonkey for a questionnaire. Most of my data has a regular scale from 0-6, and additionally an "Other" option that people can use in case they choose to not answer the item. However, when I download the data, Surveymonkey automatically assigns a value of 0 to that not-answer category, and it appears this cant be changed.
This leads to me not knowing when a zero in my numeric dataset actually means zero or just participants choosing to not answer the question. I can only figure that out by looking at another file that includes the labels of participants answers (all answers are provided by the corresponding labels, so this datafile misses all non-labeled answers...).
This leads me to my problem: I have two excel files of same size. I would need to find a way to find certain values in one dataset (text value, scattered randomly over dataset), and replace the corresponding numeric values in the other dataset (at the same position in the dataset) with those values.
I thought it would just be possible to find all values and copy paste in the same pattern, but I cannot seem to find a way to do that. I feel like I am missing an obvious solution, but after searching for quite a while I really could not find an answer to my specific question.
I have never worked with macros or more advanced excel programming before, but have a bit of knowledge about programming in itself. I hope I explained this well, I would be very thankful for any suggestions or scripts that could help me out here!
Thank you!
Alex
I don't know how your Excel file is organised, but if it's like the legacy Condensed format, all you should need to do is to select the column corresponding to a given question (if that's what you have), and search and replace all 0 (match entire cell) with the text you want.