I’ve added a number of excel tutorials to the NHS Excel website and this will become the home for most of my excel related content.

It’s been a busy month at work due to year end and the agreement of balances exercise but its been interesting from an excel point of view. We’ve had to work across a departments and this has thrown up a number of issues, not least of which has been the problem of people using different versions of excel to work on a single workbook. This month I’ve written a tutorial explaining how to force Excel 2007 to work in compatibility mode so that you can create pivot tables that work in earlier versions of excel.

I’ve also written some VBA code to automate log-ins to password protected websites. The idea of this is to use in conjunction with a website query to download data from a central NHS website to a spreadsheet on a regular basis.

This won’t appeal to many folks but just in case you’ve ever been excited by the NHS Code to Grouper spreadsheet and would like to squeeze that and the PbR tariff information spreadsheet onto your iPhone, I’ve written up a review of the NHS Reference or NHSRef iPhone app over on my NHS Excel blog. Give it a go, it might make you very happy.

Waterfall charts have become all the rage in the office of late. They are popping up all over. I suppose it is no surprise, it’s springtime and we are well into the planning process and a waterfall chart is the perfect way to demonstrate how a starting position either increases or decreases through a series of changes.

So in our case, when planning for next year’s acute healthcare budget, we may start with the forecast outturn for the current year, throw our hands up in despair and then work through a series of savings initiatives that would hopefully bring us back to a position of affordability.

This can be easily demonstrated by the use of a simple waterfall chart which is a version of a stacked bar chart with some elements formatted so that they are not visible.

Here you can see the driving table and the series clearly visible before formatting.

Life in the waterfall chart world becomes a little more difficult if your movements are going to take you either above or below the x-axis.

You can imagine this happening if instead of starting with forecast outturn we model the affect on the planned deficit/surplas. The chart below shows the starting position before QIPP or savings programs and the incremental affect of appyling each projected saving.

The table required to generate this chart is quite complex but it does at least illustrate the position accurately if the data crosses the x-axis. The simple model shown above would display the data incorrectly.

You can download the spreadsheet I used to draw up these examples which will show all the relevant formulas Waterfall Chart.xlsx but I would also recommend that you take a look at the excellent Peltier website which explains the creation of both simple and complex waterfall charts in more detail and describes the formatting process step by step – I used this site to learn the techniques.

If you work with spreadsheets that are regularly being updated and amended by multiple users then you will know something about version control. If you then add to this mix, the need to periodically distribute the updated spreadsheet for public viewing you will be more than well aware that Microsoft Excel isn’t really designed to handle version control very well.

I’m currently working with NHS contract proposals for the new financial year. The models are complex and the figures involved are high. We are up to version 20 already and the first cut hasn’t even been published. Between each issued version I know I will be inundated with emails asking what has changed and why.

I’m getting twitchy just thinking about it and I’m already dreaming about version control.

I’ve put together a few macros to enforce some rules for version control and to maintain an audit trail of changes and versions.

Methodology for Controlling Versions in Microsoft Excel
My spreadsheet includes tabs of data related to patient care, but it will work for any model that you wish to maintain a version trail for.

You need a tab for documenting the changes between each version. Mine is called Version Control but then I’m an accountant and don’t really do imagination.
On this sheet are two named ranges, VERSION and FILENAME (in B7 and B9 respectively) and two macro buttons for running the save options.

When the document is saved I want the user to overwrite the master document so that it always shows the latest version and I want them to save the file to a version folder and increment the filename to the next version number. So each save process creates one new file and overwrites another.

To ensure this happens just as I want, I need to prevent users from saving the spreadsheet in their own way. I do this by writing a procedure in the workbook object that will run whenever they attempt to save the document.

Private Sub Workbook_BeforeSave(ByVal SaveAsUI As Boolean, Cancel As Boolean)
    Cancel = True
    MsgBox "When you are happy with the changes, please go to the VERSION CONTROL tab and freeze the document to save"
End Sub

This directs the user back to the Version Control tab where they can either perform a FREEZE save or a temporary save. The temporary save is for convenience in case large changes are being made, it will save a single version with a temporary filename. The FREEZE save creates a new version and overwrites the master document, it also requires the user to enter some notes relating to the changes made.

Here’s the code for the FREEZE save:

Sub FreezeWorkbook()
'Working in Excel 97-2010
    Dim FileExtStr As String
    Dim FileFormatNum As Long
    Dim Sourcewb As Workbook
    Dim wsVC As Worksheet
    Dim Destwb As Workbook
    Dim VersionFilePath As String
    Dim VersionFileName As String
    Dim MasterFilePath As String
    Dim MasterFileName As String
    Dim VersionDate As String
    Dim Version As String
    Dim CurrentVersion As String
    Dim iLastRowVC As Long 'LAST ROW IN VERSION CONTROL SHEET
    Dim Author As String
    Dim Changes As String
    Dim AmendRef As String

    With Application
        .ScreenUpdating = False
        .EnableEvents = False
    End With

    'UPDATE THE VERSION CONTROL DETAILS
    ActiveSheet.Unprotect
    Set wsVC = Worksheets("VERSION CONTROL")
    iLastRowVC = wsVC.Cells(Rows.Count, "B").End(xlUp).Row

    'Current Version
    CurrentVersion = wsVC.Range("a" & iLastRowVC).Value

     'Insert version
     Version = InputBox("Please enter the next incremental Version Number (Current   Version = " & CurrentVersion & ")")
    wsVC.Range("a" & iLastRowVC + 1).Value = Version

    'Insert version date
    VersionDate = Format(Now, "dd-mm-yy hh-mm-ss")
    wsVC.Range("B" & iLastRowVC + 1).Value = VersionDate

    Author = InputBox("Please enter your name")
    wsVC.Range("c" & iLastRowVC + 1) = Author

    Changes = InputBox("Please enter a brief description of changes made")
    wsVC.Range("d" & iLastRowVC + 1) = Changes

    AmendRef = InputBox("Enter the ref to the Amendments Document or N/A if none available")
    wsVC.Range("e" & iLastRowVC + 1) = AmendRef

    wsVC.Range("F" & iLastRowVC + 1).Value = Range("HLACTIVITY") 'Returns a the total activity value from a named range within the spreadsheet
    wsVC.Range("G" & iLastRowVC + 1).Value = Range("HLVALUE") 'Returns a the total financial value from a named range within the spreadsheet

    'Save the master workbook
        Application.DisplayAlerts = False
        Set Sourcewb = ActiveWorkbook

    'Force the file extension to remain as Excel 97-2003
        FileExtStr = ".xls": FileFormatNum = -4143

    'Overwrite the master report or create it if it doesn't yet exist
    MasterFilePath = "c:\My Documents\2010-11 A&F Contract Templates\Masters\" 'Amend to suit your filing system
    MasterFileName = Range("FILENAME") & " Master"

    Range("VERSION").FormulaR1C1 = Version 'Overwrite the version number on the version control sheet

    With Sourcewb
        .SaveAs MasterFilePath & MasterFileName, FileFormat:=FileFormatNum, WriteResPassword:="" 'This ensures that the master is not password protected otherwise I get problems overwriting the file
    End With
    Application.DisplayAlerts = True

    'save the version workbook
    Set Sourcewb = ActiveWorkbook
    'Force the file extension to remain as Excel 97-2003
        FileExtStr = ".xls": FileFormatNum = -4143

    'Save the new workbook and close it
    VersionFilePath = "c:\My Documents\A2010-11 A&F Contract Templates\Versions\RAP\"

    VersionFileName = Range("FILENAME") & " " & Version
    ActiveSheet.Protect

    With Sourcewb
        .SaveAs VersionFilePath & VersionFileName & FileExtStr, FileFormat:=FileFormatNum, WriteResPassword:="password" 'this sets password protection in place for the version spreadsheets
    End With

    MsgBox "New version saved as " & VersionFilePath & VersionFileName & " and Master Updated"

    With Application
        .ScreenUpdating = True
        .EnableEvents = True
    End With
End Sub

and the Temporary Save code which saves the file in the versions folder with a “Temp” suffix:

Sub TempSave()
'Working in Excel 97-2010
    Dim FileExtStr As String
    Dim FileFormatNum As Long
    Dim Sourcewb As Workbook
    Dim Destwb As Workbook
    Dim TempFilePath As String
    Dim TempFileName As String
    Dim TempVersion As String
    With Application
        .ScreenUpdating = False
        .EnableEvents = False
    End With

    Set Sourcewb = ActiveWorkbook

    'Force the file extension to remain as Excel 97-2003
        FileExtStr = ".xls": FileFormatNum = -4143

    ActiveSheet.Unprotect
    TempFilePath = "c:\My Documents\2010-11 A&F Contract Templates\Versions\"
    TempVersion = Format(Now, "yy-mm-dd hh-mm-ss")
    TempFileName = "Temp " & Range("FILENAME") & " " & TempVersion
    Range("VERSION").FormulaR1C1 = TempVersion
     ActiveSheet.Protect

    With Sourcewb
        .SaveAs TempFilePath & TempFileName & FileExtStr, FileFormat:=FileFormatNum
    End With

    MsgBox "New version saved as " & TempFilePath & TempFileName

    With Application
        .ScreenUpdating = True
        .EnableEvents = True
    End With
End Sub

I’ve used the plugin Syntax Higlighter to display the VBA code. It looks great but unfortunately it doesn’t copy and paste well. You can download a blank spreadsheet that includes the modules above if you want to copy them – Version Control Macro.xls.

As usual I have botched this macro together from many hints and tips found elsewhere on the interweb, this page from Ron de Bruin was particularly useful.

I think I need to add some loops into the input box code because users can choose not to enter any comments or an appropriate version number at the moment and I have no means of controlling the errors.

I’ve also had to run this without any password protection on the master file. If I password protect it the macro fails with a write protection error. I’m not sure if I ought to be able to get around this or whether it is not actually possible to save over a write protected file. Dunno.

I think I’ve arrived late to the party but I’ve just stumbled upon a brilliant piece of software that can actually give Sporttracks a run for it’s money. TrailRunner is a superb piece of kit that acts as a standard GPS enabled training log but with added mapping and routing wizardry. I haven’t had enough time with it yet to provide a comprehensive review of all its features but I do still want to alert you to its routing functionality.

I’ve been looking ahead to the 16 and 20 mile long runs that form part of my marathon schedule and wondering how to find an inspiring route, possibly with some remote off roading and still ensure that I can get safely home at the end of it. The London Loop offers up some fairly secluded long distance trails but although it is signposted in parts, I know I would still get horrendously lost and throw my teddy out of the pram at mile 19.

I’ve therefore been looking for some way to carry the route with me. I’d just started looking round for yet another GPS gadget when I discovered that my trusty Garmin Forerunner 310XT will do the job for me (as would the 305). For some reason I had got it into my head that the 310XT didn’t support routes. In actual fact it doesn’t support routes but does support courses – I don’t know the difference but I do know that courses are just what I need.

This is where TrailRunner comes into the picture. TrailRunner is a 3 in 1 application: an activity journal, a mapping application and a route planning app.

Trailrunner stores all my routes, whether imported from GPS or created using it’s routing functionality, into my own personal network of tracks. I can also access the GPSies community to import nearby tracks and thereby beef up my own personal network.

I get the impression that network building could become quite a techy task. I’ve been reading the instructions and you have to get to grips with a glossary of GPS and mapping terms and occasionally help the program out by splitting and merging tracks.

Having done this though, the program unleashes functionality number 3 – the route planning function. Trailrunner can create a workout of a set distance based on my network, and if I rate the tracks in advance it will do it’s best to choose a loop taking in my favourite segments. Wizardry!

I’m importing my old workouts as we speak and mapping out the London Loop into 10 mile segments.

I can export any route held with TrailRunner to a number of different formats. If I choose TCX I can import the file to Garmin Training Centre and then send the course to my device. From here I can access it through the training menu. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.

This isn’t a feature restricted to TrailRunner by any means. MapMyRun enables you to create routes and then export as a TCX file as does Google (I think), but TrailRunner is such an accomplished piece of kit that I can’t resist investing some time and effort into it.

DCRainmaker has prepared a useful illustrated walkthrough of how to create courses for the Forerunner 310XT (or 305/500/705) using MapMyRun as the route maker and Garmin Training Centre to upload to the device.

You don’t even need to have a Garmin sports watch to take advantage of these features either. RaceBunny is an iPhone app also by Berbie software that works seamlessly with TrailRunner. You can record GPS trails from the phone and import to the desktop software as well as downloading pre-recorded routes into the iPhone.

I’ve got quite a lot of dabbling and learning to do before I become adept at using TrailRunner, as you can see from my mapping example above I’ve got it riddled with waypoints. This isn’t necessary at all as you can link your trails to the map background. So in this case I am using the OpenStreetMap background which has all the legal trails already mapped, all I need to do is click to start my trail and the software miraculously follows the twists and turns to spit out a track.

When I’ve got a little more familiar with TrailRunner I’ll be back to give it a full review but if you love maps and gadgets and have a mac I’d really recommend you give this a go – it’s free and fantastic!

Originally published on my warriorwomen blog.

I’ve been running with my iPhone for a couple of years and I think I have now got a fairly stable armory of running or health related apps that I would be prepared to recommend. I’ll split them into 4 sections and go from there.

The Running Logs

The iPhone is my ever present mobile computer. It bothers me that my training logs are locked away on the laptop at home, or worse, spread across a few online logs like Garmin Connect, Adidas miCoach and Fetcheveryone. Surely when someone asks me how my training has been going for GNR or VLM, I ought to be able to pull out my phone and demonstrate with a pretty chart or a weekly distance log. It’s taken a bit of effort but I can now do that. Of course no one has asked how my training has been going for a while.

Athlete Diary (web link)
Running logs abound but a lot are fairly naff and are never going to pull me away from a desktop version, however I have been extremely impressed by Athlete Diary.

It is shockingly expensive, at £11.99 it’s the most expensive app I’ve ever bought, in fact I still can’t believe I did it. It is very good though.

It looks very much like a standard paper journal but it has whistles and a few bells. On the face of it the program is simple enough, the first screen opens with the log in list form showing the standard: date, time, distance, pace, sport along with notes on the route. The second screen shows each day in journal format and you have the option to add images and web links. The third screen shows the totals in both tabular and graph format. The fourth screen is the search facility and is the key to uncovering the amazing functionality of the application. From here I can search on any number of variables and keywords that you can set up and customise.

So for example I have set up a few keywords such as wt, Avg HR, Shoe 1 etc. Each keyword can be defined as total, avg or non-numeric which determines how it is shown on the charts and summaries. As far as I know there aren’t any limits to the number of keywords you can have but it does pay to think about it at the start so you can build up a consistent data set as you go along.

Having set up the keywords I can head back to the search facility and select the date period covering the last year, select running as my sport and perhaps select the training type as race. If I now look at the log it will show me all the running races in the last year. Moving to the summary sheets the same applies – running races in the last year. If I now choose the chart option I can select the keyword of interest so for example max HR to show the variation across the selected events. If I selected a specific keyword in the search facility such as Shoe 1 my log and summaries would show all the runs where I wore shoe 1.

It is such a customisable application that is very nearly worth £11.99

The feature that makes me so particularly happy about my purchase is the import/export functionality. The designers have gone to huge effort to enable you to get all your data into the log. It’s a bit of a faff and I had to wipe the database clean and start afresh a few times before I got the hang of it but I do now have every single run from the last 4 years loaded up. I pulled data out of Sporttracks, Garmin connect, Fetch and others, faffed around with it in excel to get the right format, converted to a text file, emailed it to my phone and the copy and pasted it directly into the import screen of Athlete Diary – Genius!

It’s hard to believe how happy that makes me. All my data inside my little phone.

HRM Log FM (web link)
Before I came across the Athlete Diary I was convinced that the answer to my problems was an app that synced with Garmin Connect. Admittedly I don’t have all my runs on there, I had a life pre-GPS and sometimes I run on the treadmill but in recent times it is fair to say that most have been uploaded to Garmin Connect. Garmin Connect is a terrible website though and it doesn’t help me get the stats and data on my phone.

After a lot of searching I came across HRM Log FM. As an app it doesn’t do a lot, you can’t add runs or modify data in any way but it is a perfect way to view data stored on Garmin Connect. The sync is fairly painless and new runs are added to a calendar view, clicking through enables you to view the details – summary, lap details and a pace and heart rate chart. The route map isn’t shown unfortunately but it’s still very useful.

The GPS Apps

I am not a big fan of the GPS apps but then I have a Garmin Forerunner so why would I bother?

The GPS reception is not as good as the purpose built watches and the effort drains the battery far too quickly for my liking. The last time I used it I nearly found myself stranded at the end of the Wandle Trail with no juice left to call for my pick up vehicle.

Having said that I have tried a good few and have been impressed with two: Adidas miCoach and Nike+ GPS. I’ve previously reviewed the Adidas mobile miCoach app and you can read that here.

Technical Running Stuff

PaceCalc (web link)

A very simple little app. There are many websites around that will perform the same function but it’s handy to have it wrapped up in a stand alone program.

You enter your time for a race or a custom distance and it returns a screen with pace and speed conversions in metric and imperial and then on another screen it displays projected race times on the basis of your entry. It also provides a series of recommended training paces.

Cadence (web link)

This is perhaps a bit gimmicky but I’ve got a bee in my bonnet about efficient running styles at the moment. I don’t have one but would like one and apparently one of the ways to get there is to shorten your stride length and increase your step rate or cadence. 180 steps per minute is the holy grail apparently. Seems unattainable to me but I’m happy to give it go.

This app is just a running styled metronome, I set the rate to 180 (or some other number) and the little feet beat out the pace for me to follow.

That’s all there is to it.

Diet and Weight

Some runners and particularly this one, need to keep on top of their weight, or more accurately chase after it like a hurtling runaway train.

I’ve got two favourites weight logs, True Weight and FatWatch.

True Weight (web link)
I’ve used True weight for a long time, it’s very simple and uses the Hackers Diet principles to show the “true weight” after all the fluctuations have been smoothed. The display is clear and you can view the actual weight recorded as well as the trend line.

I have to admit that unfortunately, these figures are not mine.

FatWatch (web link)
I recently moved over to FatWatch as I wanted to record both my weight and my fat %.

It uses a very similar method for plotting the trend and allows you to set a goal and show your progression (or lack of) against it.

Both applications enable you to export your data via email so you need never lose data to a locked in app again.

As you can see I have an unfavourable divergence between the green (target) and red (trend) line so it’s time to take remedial action and start the calorie controlled approach for a while. This is where the last app comes into it’s own.

Tap&Track (web link)

This app gets reviewed all over and has proved to be incredibly popular because its so intuitive and smooth to use.

You start by entering your height and weight details and after setting your weight loss goals it determines your daily calorie allowance. By the grace of god or perhaps metabolism, you can increase your daily allowance by logging some exercise. I’ve just this minute bagged 30 mins on the treadmill so that I can polish off half a bottle of bubbly without having scale anxiety tomorrow morning.

It’s a typical food, exercise and weight log and works on the principal that if you diligently record everything that you eat, you might just think twice about putting it in your mouth. I find it quite effective but you have to be strict and record everything.

Like most of these logs it has the American bias but it does still seem to have a lot of foods available locally (including Sainsburys and Pret a Manger) and besides its an absolute doddle to enter your own items which you can then save to your favourites list. I don’t mind doing this, when I go on a diet I tend to eat a rotation of very similar foods so after a fortnight I’ll have just about all the options covered.

I read reviews where people doubt the accuracy of some of the nutritional entries, I’ve found a few problems as well so its advisable to sense check new items or enter them yourself from the label.

It doesn’t seem to handle alcohol particularly well. I’ve entered the details for Stella manually but it doesn’t have a section for alcohol content and so the nutrition chart doesn’t include a piece of pie for the proportion of calories that comes from alcohol. That’s a bit of a shame for me but maybe something they could easily add as an update.

Despite a few niggles, this app is a joy to use, very well designed and so far it seems to be helping me towards my goal.

So there you have it, 9 top iPhone apps for runners, have I missed any must have apps? Let me know.

Originally published on my warriorwomen blog.

Crossing the line at the end of the Great North run I felt elated, 10 mins later I was sick and feverish.

Any fitness I had in September disappeared over the next 5 weeks as I feebly battled a chest infection. Now that I’ve more or less cleared my chest and started venturing back onto the treadmill or out for a Grid Run I find myself struck down once again, this time by a bolt to the back of the knee. I can’t run without yelping and trying to do so has left me with a permanent limp.

This really does not bode well for my marathon training plans.

I haven’t been resting on my laurels though. While my body may well have been degenerating rapidly my mind has been busy researching training schedules and drawing up plans.

Hal Higdon has a series of well respected schedules available but they are relentless and require you to commit to 5 runs per week and a max weekly mileage of 44 for the intermediate program. At my pace that’s a lot of my life to spend running.

I accept that marathon training is supposed to be gruelling, the reward doesn’t come after a days pain but after 4 months of commitment and then a days pain but if there are alternatives I’m going to be tempted.

Fortunately there are alternatives and plenty of them.

One of my overriding requirements for this marathon is that I’ve got to get faster – not fast, but I don’t want to be running around that course after 7 hours. There is one schedule on the market that claims to increase the pace of anyone who sticks to the plan and that is FIRST from the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training. It seems that even Boston qualifiers have achieved PRs using the FIRST method of 3 runs per week, and if it can work for someone at the top of their game its bound to do something for me.

Their method is based on a 3+2 schedule called “Run Less, Run faster”, not to be mistaken with “Train Less, Run Faster” because although you only run 3 times a week you are supposed to take part in some fairly energetic cross training on 2 other days in the week.

The key to the success of the FIRST plan seems to be related to the nature of the 3 runs. Each one is very specific and targeted at improving a key element of your running fitness. Key Run 1 is a track repeat session, ideally suited to treadmill workouts, Key run 2 is a tempo workout and Key run 3 is the Long Run a familiar staple of any marathon plan. RunnersWorld has a useful article giving an overview of the approach and Fetcheveryone has a very active forum on the topic.

The Furman website has the marathon schedules available to download along with the target pace charts.

I’ve spent a few hours knocking up a spreadsheet that includes the FIRST Novice Marathon Plan and the FIRST Half Marathon plan along with all the recommended paces for runners achieving 5k times anywhere between 15 and 40 mins. The spreadsheet personalises the schedule so that you can select from the drop down box your latest 5k performance and see each workout broken down with your specific target paces. I’ve gone to quite a bit of effort with it because I wanted to be able to print off a clear schedule for use on the treadmill.

If you want to try it out yourself feel free to download it and test it out:

FIRST Personalised Marathon and Half Marathon Schedule for Excel.

Now all I have to do is get over my knee problems and start running.

Originally published on my warriorwomen blog.

Excel to CrossTabI often find myself struggling to deal with data that has been rendered almost unusable by the data provider who has converted it to a cross tab format. Usually they think they are helping and have probably started with a nice flat list then spent ages formatting it so the data spreads out across the columns. Sometimes they have achieved this by putting the data into a pivot table but then have pasted the table as values and removed all links to the underlying data. Very helpful.

 Yesterday I had to deal with a data file that looked a little like this only  it spread out across 455 columns and was frankly useless.

I wrote a post a while back that demonstrated how to convert a simple cross tab back to a manageable data list but I wanted to expand this with a slightly more complex example which had more field headings.

So starting with the table above which was probably a pasted copy from a pivot table I applied a little bit of formatting to achieve the following starting table.

What I have done is remove the grouping that the pivot table applies and ensured that I have the relevant  week number, project and department details against each name

I often wish to convert pivot table outputs back into a data file and the way I fill in the blanks caused by grouping data is to prepare a sheet with formulas that copy values from above (or the side as appropriate):

I then copy the pivot table data and then use the paste special command selecting paste values and skip blanks as the options.

This results in the following output, which I then copy and paste over itself as values, to give me the desired structure.

Having spent a bit of time on the structure of my starting file I can run the macro that will work through each row and transpose the data from a columnar layout to one based on rows.

The advantage of this format is that I can now create my own pivot tables and cut the data as I see fit to produce multiple summary formats according to my audience.

Here’s the macro I use:

Sub CrossTabToList()

Dim wsCrossTab As Worksheet
Dim wsList As Worksheet
Dim iLastCol As Long
Dim iLastRow As Long
Dim iLastRowList As Long
Dim rngCTab As Range ‘Used for range in Sheet1 cross tab sheet
Dim rngList As Range ‘Destination range for the list
Dim ROW As Long

Set wsCrossTab = Worksheets(“Sheet1″) ‘AMEND TO SHOW SHEET NUMBER WITH THE CROSS TAB
Set wsList = Worksheets.Add

‘Find the last row in Sheet1 with the cross tab
iLastRow = wsCrossTab.Cells(Rows.Count, “A”).End(xlUp).ROW

‘Set the initial value for the row in the destination worksheet
iLastRowList = 2

‘Find the last column in Sheet1 with the cross tab
iLastCol = wsCrossTab.Range(“A2″).End(xlToRight).Column

‘SET THE HEADING TITLES IN THE LIST SHEET
wsList.Range(“A1:F1″) = Array(“NAME”, “PROJECT”, “TYPE”, “PLAN/ACTUAL”, “WEEK”, “HOURS”)

‘Start looping through the cross tab data

For ROW = 3 To iLastRow ‘START AT ROW 3 AS THIS IS WHERE DATA BEGINS
Set rngCTab = wsCrossTab.Range(“A” & ROW, “C” & ROW) ‘initial value A3 SETS THE RANGE TO

‘INCLUDE ALL STATIC DATA – IN THIS CASE NAME, PROJECT, TYPE
Set rngList = wsList.Range(“A” & iLastRowList) ‘initial value A3

‘Copy individual names in Col A (A3 initially) into as many rows as there are data columns
‘in the cross tab (less 3 for Col A-C).
rngCTab.Copy rngList.Resize(iLastCol – 3)

‘SELECT THE HEADING ROW WITH FORECAST/ACTUAL
‘Move up ROW (INITIALLY 3) rows less TWO and across 3 columns (using offset function). Copy.
rngCTab.Offset(-(ROW – 2), 3).Resize(, iLastCol – 3).Copy

‘Paste transpose to columns in the list sheet alongside the static data
rngList.Offset(0, 3).PasteSpecial Transpose:=True

‘SELECT THE ROW WITH THE WEEK NUMBERS
‘Move up ROW (INITIALLY 3) rows less ONE and across 3 columns (using offset function). Copy.
rngCTab.Offset(-(ROW – 1), 3).Resize(, iLastCol – 3).Copy

‘Paste transpose to columns in the list sheet alongside the static data
rngList.Offset(0, 4).PasteSpecial Transpose:=True

‘Staying on same row (3 initially) copy the data from the cross tab
rngCTab.Offset(, 3).Resize(, iLastCol – 3).Copy

‘Past transpose as column in list sheet
rngList.Offset(0, 5).PasteSpecial Transpose:=True

‘Set the new last row in list sheet to be just below the last name copied
iLastRowList = iLastRowList + (iLastCol – 3)

‘increment ROW by 1
Next ROW

End Sub

I’m afraid the VBA code isn’t rendering very well – you’ll have to replace all the ” and ‘ marks before the macro editor will recognise the code.
Here is a copy of file – you could copy the macro code from here: Excel to CrossTab.xls

I’ve recently gone down the route of setting up my Outlook email system for use with the getting things done (GTD) methodology. This means I work to a zero inbox and have limited context based folders such as @ACTION, @REFERENCE, @READ. I have been religiously categorising my mail before assigning to the reference pile and using Search folders in place of my previous system of dragging the email into a sub-sub-folder that never proved to be the right one when I came to look for it again.

The beauty of the categorise and Search Folder functionality is that I can apply multiple categories to a single email and I no longer have to decide whether to file my email in the “Wandsworth” folder or the “SLA” folder. If I assign it both categories, it will appear in my search folder under both categories.

I wanted to set up a few search folders that would enable me to view emails that were categorised in more than one specific folder using the logical “AND” rather than “OR” that the system defaults to. For example, it is the commissioning period at the moment and it would be handy for me to have a few search folders set up for the next month or so that group together emails categorised as 2010 SLA and a specific borough.

My initial attempts at using the custom search folder dialog box and entering the instruction “1a. Wandsworth AND 3a. SLA 1011” in the “More Choices” tab did not work as it was presumably looking for a single category. I did a bit of a google search and didn’t find anything very promising so having found a solution I thought it might be useful to write it up.

1. Create a new Search Folder by right clicking on Search Folder and selecting New.
2. Scroll down to the bottom and select Create a Custom Search Folder and then hit Choose
3. Give it a name and then hit Criteria
4. Within the Advanced tab set the field to equal Categories (it’s in the frequently used drop down)
5. Leave the condition as contains
6. Write your category names separated by “AND” in the Value field.
7. Hit “Add to list”
8. OK your way out of the dialog box and you should have a functioning multiple category search folder.

I’m moving to a new job soon and wanted to take the opportunity to set up the new email system in line with GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology.

Here’s my checklist for setting up the new system on Outlook 2007.
Most tips and code are taken from Simon Guest over at Simon Says but I’ve amended the code (very slightly) to suit my particular needs and naming conventions. For further details and descriptions please follow the links to his blog where I’ve listed them.

1. Create Folders at same level as Inbox

• @ACTION REQD
• @MEETINGS
• @READ
• @REFERENCE
• @PERSONAL
• @WAITING FOR

2. Create Macro for categorising and assigning email as task:

To create a new task from an email, select the email, run the NewTask macro, choose categories and at least one @CATEGORY, in my case @ACTION. Then you can choose to rename the subject title – this will become the new task.

Function FileFolderEntryId() As StringDim myolApp As Outlook.Application
Dim myNamespace As Outlook.NameSpace
Dim myInbox As Outlook.Folder
Dim rootFolder As Outlook.Folder
Dim subFolders As Outlook.Folders
Dim subFolder As Outlook.Folder
Dim fileFolder As Outlook.Folder
Dim fileEntryID As String
Dim fileFolderName As String

‘Set the folder name – must be at the same level as the inbox
fileFolderName = “@ACTION REQD”

‘ Move the the file folder
Set myolApp = CreateObject(“Outlook.Application”)
Set myNamespace = myolApp.GetNamespace(“MAPI”)
Set myInbox = myNamespace.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox)
Set rootFolder = myInbox.Parent
Set subFolders = rootFolder.Folders

Set subFolder = subFolders.GetFirst
Do While Not subFolder Is Nothing
If subFolder.Name = fileFolderName Then
fileEntryID = subFolder.EntryID
Exit Do
End If
Set subFolder = subFolders.GetNext
Loop

‘ return the entry ID for the file folder
FileFolderEntryId = fileEntryID

End Function

Sub NewTask()

Dim item As MailItem
Dim myolApp As Outlook.Application
Dim myNamespace As Outlook.NameSpace
Dim fileFolder As Outlook.Folder
Dim newName As String

‘ Pick the category
Set item = Outlook.Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection.item(1)

‘ Mark as unread
item.UnRead = False
item.Save
item.ShowCategoriesDialog

‘validate to see whether two categories exist, including an action
If (item.Categories <> “”) Then
If (InStr(item.Categories, “@”) > 0) Then
If (InStr(item.Categories, “,”) > 0) Then

‘ Set the follow up flag
item.MarkAsTask (olMarkNoDate)

‘ Move the item to the file folder
Set myolApp = CreateObject(“Outlook.Application”)
Set myNamespace = myolApp.GetNamespace(“MAPI”)
Set fileFolder = myNamespace.GetFolderFromID(FileFolderEntryId())

‘ Ask for a different name if required
newName = InputBox(“Please enter a subject for the task:”, “Task Subject”, item.TaskSubject)
item.TaskSubject = newName
item.Save

item.Move fileFolder
End If
End If
End If
End Sub

3. Create a rule that will send a email from me and cc’d to me as @WAITING FOR category and file

This is a way of keeping track of requests you’ve sent out in the @WAITING FOR folder.

4. Create a macro that will categorise and send mail to the @REFERENCE Folder

Sub ToReferenceAndCategorise()

Dim item As MailItem
Dim myolApp As Outlook.Application
Dim myNamespace As Outlook.NameSpace
Dim myInbox As Outlook.Folder
Dim rootFolder As Outlook.Folder
Dim subFolders As Outlook.Folders
Dim subFolder As Outlook.Folder
Dim fileFolder As Outlook.Folder
Dim fileEntryID As String
Dim fileFolderName As String

‘Set the folder name – must be at the same level as the inbox
fileFolderName = “@REFERENCE”

‘ Pick the category
Set item = Outlook.Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection.item(1)
item.ShowCategoriesDialog

‘ Move the the file folder
Set myolApp = CreateObject(“Outlook.Application”)
Set myNamespace = myolApp.GetNamespace(“MAPI”)
Set myInbox = myNamespace.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox)
Set rootFolder = myInbox.Parent
Set subFolders = rootFolder.Folders

Set subFolder = subFolders.GetFirst
Do While Not subFolder Is Nothing
If subFolder.Name = fileFolderName Then
fileEntryID = subFolder.EntryID
Set fileFolder = myNamespace.GetFolderFromID(fileEntryID)
item.Move fileFolder

Exit Do
End If
Set subFolder = subFolders.GetNext
Loop

End Sub

5. Repeat above for Categorise and send to @Waiting For Folder

6. Create a macro that will categorise and send mail to the @READ Folder

This is the same as above but I want to include it under my task list, which I have sorted by folder, so I also include a routine to add a no date follow up flag.

Sub ToReadAndCategorise()

Dim item As MailItem
Dim myolApp As Outlook.Application
Dim myNamespace As Outlook.NameSpace
Dim myInbox As Outlook.Folder
Dim rootFolder As Outlook.Folder
Dim subFolders As Outlook.Folders
Dim subFolder As Outlook.Folder
Dim fileFolder As Outlook.Folder
Dim fileEntryID As String
Dim fileFolderName As String

‘Set the folder name – must be at the same level as the inbox
fileFolderName = “@READ”

‘ Pick the category
Set item = Outlook.Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection.item(1)
item.ShowCategoriesDialog

‘ Set the follow up flag
item.MarkAsTask (olMarkNoDate)

‘ Move the the file folder
Set myolApp = CreateObject(“Outlook.Application”)
Set myNamespace = myolApp.GetNamespace(“MAPI”)
Set myInbox = myNamespace.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox)
Set rootFolder = myInbox.Parent
Set subFolders = rootFolder.Folders

Set subFolder = subFolders.GetFirst
Do While Not subFolder Is Nothing
If subFolder.Name = fileFolderName Then
fileEntryID = subFolder.EntryID
Set fileFolder = myNamespace.GetFolderFromID(fileEntryID)
item.Move fileFolder

Exit Do
End If
Set subFolder = subFolders.GetNext
Loop

End Sub

7. Create a macro that will create Task and Mail Search Folders

Sub CreateNewSearchFolder()

Set MyOutlookApplication = Outlook.Application
SearchSubFolders = True
Set MapiNamespace = Application.GetNamespace(“MAPI”)
Set TasksFolder = MapiNamespace.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.olFolderTasks).Parent
strS = “‘” & TasksFolder.FolderPath & “‘”

Dim folderName As String
folderName = InputBox(“What category would you like to create a search folder for?:”, “Category”, “”)
Dim objSch As Search
Dim categoryFilter As String
categoryFilter = “(“”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office#Keywords”" LIKE ‘%” & folderName & “%’)”
Dim taskFilter As String
taskFilter = “(“”http://schemas.microsoft.com/mapi/proptag/0x0e05001f”"= ‘Tasks’ AND “”http://schemas.microsoft.com/mapi/id/{00062003-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}/81010003″” <> 2) OR (NOT(“”http://schemas.microsoft.com/mapi/proptag/0×10900003″” IS NULL) AND “”http://schemas.microsoft.com/mapi/id/{00062003-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}/81010003″” <> 2)”
Dim strTag As String
strTag = “RecurSearch”

‘ Create the tasks folder
Set objSch = Application.AdvancedSearch(Scope:=strS, Filter:=categoryFilter & ” AND (” + taskFilter + “)”, _
SearchSubFolders:=True, Tag:=strTag)
objSch.Save (folderName)

‘ Create the mail folder
Set objSch = Application.AdvancedSearch(Scope:=strS, Filter:=categoryFilter, _
SearchSubFolders:=True, Tag:=strTag)
objSch.Save (folderName & ” (Mail)”)

End Sub

8. Create custom toolbars for the above macros

• Right click on toolbar – Customise
• Select commands tab the Macro on Left
• Drag desired macro to toolbar
• Right click on macro button and rename and assign keyboard shortcut if necessary (you need to do this with the customise box still open)

9. Introduce colouring to organise selected folders

• Go to Tools> Organize and complete the following steps:
• select Using Colours
• Change “Colour messages from [you] in Silver”
• Apply Colour
• Turn on the “Show messages sent only to me in Blue”

10. Panic if new job doesn’t use Outlook 2007

Alternatively I could start working through some tips for using Outlook 2003 for GTD, starting here.

I am still a little bemused as to how to deal with SENT items in Outlook, I’ve seen macros directing all sent items back into the inbox to be categorised and filed but I would prefer the category dialog box to pop up when I press send.  I’ve currently set up a lot of rules which apply categories on the basis of who I have sent them to but it is not foolproof.