Replies

Just wanted to thank you again for the help, Hans. I can replicate the problem with the original file, but after resetting from read-only, owner/permissions, and re-copying, the file seems fine.
It does look like a graphic message, but not worth pursuing since I can use the copy just fine. And, now that the date problem is resolved, I’m on my way again.
I really appreciate your time and input!

Hi Hans,
Not that I have been able to discover … it does seem to be a graphics converter that pops up, but it goes away so fast I have been unable to get any more detail.
I wondered if something somehow got modified in some part of the e-mail process, but all the data looks normal. I copied it over in Windows and Mac OS, but whatever is causing the behavior is going with the copy.
The file is about 700KB and would be a lot of work to recreate. It does have a lot of equations in two of the sheets and slows down my VPC, so I am considering splitting it up..
Thanks for any insight.

Thanks a lot! That did it.
I am still curious though about the meta data conversion message … and the file was read only. The fellow I correspond with does not know how that could have occurred.
Thanks again!

PS – the last time he e-mailed me a copy of the files he edited, I keep getting a quick message about converting a meta-file. I’ve never seen that before … could this be the problem?
Thanks!

Thanks Legare, that does exactly what I wanted!

Thank you so much for such a quick reply! It is very comforting to know that creating the link in the same directory and then storing the group together on the user’s machine will solve my major problem. I really like the idea of the VBA code for an Install.xls, but I don’t have much experience in VBA. Is it pretty simple? Could you direct me to some help on creating the file?
Thank you again!

Well, obviously it is an equivalent expression here, because there is no diffference in the displayed symbol in my comments, although I typed it in exactly as it comes through. In my e-mail program it is “ampersand lt”, instead of the less than operator, and it does not work when I cut and paste the equation to Excel2004. Just a little “gotcha” I guess.
Gloria

Legare,
I forgot to mention something I’ve noticed a couple of times and might be helpful to others. When the solution equation is imbedded in an e-mail, symbols like “<" sometimes come through looking like "&lt" and it takes a little thought to figure out what's wrong if you just copy and paste into Excel. Of course, if you take the trouble to log on to the forum, it displays correctly and can be copied off. I use a Mac with OS 10.3.9 for my e-mail and much of my work, so I'm not sure if it is the Mac mail program or something that happens in transmission. Just thougth others might experience the same thing.
Thanks again for the help!

Yes it does! Thanks for such a quick and clever way to do it! I had not even thought about the MIN of a range. I really appreciate the help!

Thank you Steve,
This will work just fine for now. Since I have to distribute this to others using various versions of Excel (PC and Mac), I think I will stay away from macros for now. (I may tackle it later for my own edification though!) Every time I ask for help I learn something new … I had never really explored the GoTo Special in this detail, it is quite powerful and I will be using it more in the future.
I really appreciate you guys and your expertise!
Thanks again!

Hans,
This works just fine, I had not put the AND at the front, and I had thought I needed to use between, not recognizing that the FIRST condition met does the formatting, so you saved me a lot of confusion. I also have interspersed, items that have no expiration dates in the columns. That is the reason for the ISNUMBER term. I had formatted the data with expiration dates of “None” being left justified and plain text, those with dates bold and right justified to make it obvious in a quick scan of the data. When I copy the formatting to all cells, I get the RJ and Bold where I don’t want it. So I assume the easiest solution is to just apply the formatting to the cells that have dates … but that is tedious because I have several of these files for different types of packs and boxes of supplies. Since I only have 3 conditions for formatting, is there away to add the RJ/Bold easily for all dates, even those not meeting the special color I have created for various ordering lead times? That is, exclude the RJ/Bold from “None” data fields.
Thank you, again, for your help!

Thank you, Andrew. For some reason I’ve never used the OR function and this reminds me to get out my rut and be more creative. This is a slick and easy to understand way to solve my problem. This forum is the best!

Gloria

Thank you, Andrew. For some reason I’ve never used the OR function and this reminds me to get out my rut and be more creative. This is a slick and easy to understand way to solve my problem. This forum is the best!

Gloria

Thanks Hans. I should have thought of that, but it just never got through my blind spot. You guys always come through!

Gloria

Thanks Hans. I should have thought of that, but it just never got through my blind spot. You guys always come through!

Gloria