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

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.

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.

I’ve amended array sorting code from John Walkenbach and Anthony’s VBA Tutorials to create something I can understand.

The DbleBubbleSort routine takes two arrays as arguments and sorts the string array (y) on the basis of the values in a nuber array (x). I’m using John Walkenbachs BubbleSort methodology which is simple but undoubtedly not the most efficient.

Sub DbleBubbleSort(x() As Single, y() As String)

‘ adapting the BubbleSort method to sort an array on the basis of the values in another array.
‘ x is an array of numbers (can be random as in the DbleSortTest() routine)
‘ y is a string array
    Dim First As Integer, Last As Long
    Dim i As Long, j As Long
    Dim xtemp As Single
    Dim ytemp As String
   
    First = LBound(x)
    Last = UBound(x)
    For i = First To Last – 1
        For j = i + 1 To Last
            If x(i) > x(j) Then
                xtemp = x(j)
                ytemp = y(j)
                x(j) = x(i)
                y(j) = y(i)
                x(i) = xtemp
                y(i) = ytemp
            End If
        Next j
    Next i
End Sub

The following routine calls on the DbleBubbleSort sub routine and uses it to provide a random selection of 3 entries from a string array.

Sub DbleSortTest()
‘this is an amended version of a function on http://www.anthony-vba.kefra.com/vba/excelvba-simulation.htm#Creating_and_Managing_Array
‘it randomly selects 3 entries from a text array (y)
‘it utilises a random number array and the sorting of one array based on the values in another.

    Dim i As Long
    Dim x(8) As Single, y(8) As String
    Dim str As String

    y(1) = “Anthony”
    y(2) = “Bobby”
    y(3) = “Chris”
    y(4) = “Danny”
    y(5) = “Eton”
    y(6) = “Frank”
    y(7) = “George”
    y(8) = “Harry”
   
    ‘enters the x array into a worksheet
    For i = 1 To UBound(x)
        x(i) = Rnd
        Cells(i, 2) = x(i)
    Next i
   
    ‘enters the y array in column 3 of the worksheet
    For i = 1 To UBound(y)
        Cells(i, 3) = y(i)
    Next i
   
    Call DbleBubbleSort(x, y)
   
    ‘calls the first 3 values of y sorted according to x and enters them in the worksheet
    str = “”
    For i = 1 To 3
        str = str & y(i) & vbCrLf
        Cells(i, 1) = y(i)
    Next i

    MsgBox str
End Sub

These particular snippets are useful routines for sorting arrays and can be called from other procedures. I’ve taken these particular ones from John Walkenbach’s book: Excel 2007 Power Programming with VBA. I’m working my way through Anthony’s VBA tutorials for excel modelling and array sorting is regular feature.

The BubbleSort code is easy to understand and therefore one of my favourites but the other 3 methods are much quicker for arrays with more than 500 entries.

Sub BubbleSort(list() As String)
‘ Taken from power programming with VBA
‘ It’s a sorting procedure for 1-dimensional arrays named List
‘ The procedure takes each array element, if it is greater than the next element, the two elements swap positions.
‘ The evaluation is repeated for every pair of items (that is n-1 times)
‘ Change data type to As Integer if your array isn’t text
    Dim First As Integer, Last As Long
    Dim i As Long, j As Long
    Dim temp As String
    First = LBound(list)
    Last = UBound(list)
    For i = First To Last – 1
        For j = i + 1 To Last
            If list(i) > list(j) Then
                temp = list(j)
                list(j) = list(i)
                list(i) = temp
            End If
        Next j
    Next i
End Sub

You can test this macro with the following routine which pastes the results into the immediate window.

Sub SortTester()
   
    Dim x(1 To 5) As String
    Dim i As Long
   
    x(1) = “egg”
    x(2) = “apple”
    x(3) = “stuff”
    x(4) = “nonsense”
    x(5) = “1″
   
    Call BubbleSort(x)
   
    For i = 1 To 5
        Debug.Print i, x(i)
    Next i
End Sub

Here are a few more sort options which are a bit more efficient but unfortunately more complex.

Sub WorksheetSort(list)
‘   Sorts an array by transferring it to
‘   A worksheet and using Excel’s sorting command
   
    Dim First As Integer, Last As Long
    Dim i As Long
    Dim FirstCell As Range, LastCell As Range
    Dim CurrCell As Range, FillRange As Range
   
    First = LBound(list, 1)
    Last = UBound(list, 1)
    Set FirstCell = Sheets(“Sheet1″).Cells(1, 1)
    Set LastCell = Sheets(“Sheet1″).Cells(Last, 1)
    Set FillRange = Range(FirstCell, LastCell)
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
   
‘   Transfer the array to worksheet
    FillRange.Value = list
   
‘   Sort the worksheet range
    FirstCell.CurrentRegion.Sort Key1:=FirstCell, Order1:=xlAscending, Orientation:=xlTopToBottom
      
‘   Transfer range back to the array and clear range
    For i = First To Last
        list(i, 0) = FirstCell.Offset(i – 1, 0)
    Next i
    FillRange.Clear
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

Public Sub Quicksort(list() As Long, ByVal min As Long, ByVal max As Long) 
‘This technique works only with Integer or Long values.
Dim med_value As Long
    Dim hi As Long
    Dim lo As Long
    Dim i As Long

    ‘ If min >= max, the list contains 0 or 1 items so it
    ‘ is sorted.
    If min >= max Then Exit Sub

    ‘ Pick the dividing value.
    i = Int((max – min + 1) * Rnd + min)
    med_value = list(i)

    ‘ Swap it to the front.
    list(i) = list(min)

    lo = min
    hi = max
    Do
        ‘ Look down from hi for a value < med_value.
        Do While list(hi) >= med_value
            hi = hi – 1
            If hi <= lo Then Exit Do
        Loop
        If hi <= lo Then
            list(lo) = med_value
            Exit Do
        End If

        ‘ Swap the lo and hi values.
        list(lo) = list(hi)
       
        ‘ Look up from lo for a value >= med_value.
        lo = lo + 1
        Do While list(lo) < med_value
            lo = lo + 1
            If lo >= hi Then Exit Do
        Loop
        If lo >= hi Then
            lo = hi
            list(hi) = med_value
            Exit Do
        End If
       
        ‘ Swap the lo and hi values.
        list(hi) = list(lo)
    Loop
   
    ‘ Sort the two sublists.
    Quicksort list(), min, lo – 1
    Quicksort list(), lo + 1, max
End Sub

Sub Countingsort(list)
‘This technique works only with Integer or Long values.
Dim counts()
    Dim i As Long
    Dim j As Long
    Dim next_index As Long
    Dim min, max
    Dim min_value As Variant, max_value As Variant

‘   Allocate the counts array. VBA automatically
‘   initialises all entries to 0.

    min_value = Minimum(list)
    max_value = Maximum(list)

    min = LBound(list)
    max = UBound(list)
   
    ReDim counts(min_value To max_value)
   
    ‘ Count the values.
    For i = min To max
        counts(list(i)) = counts(list(i)) + 1
    Next i

    ‘ Write the items back into the list array.
    next_index = min
    For i = min_value To max_value
        For j = 1 To counts(i)
            list(next_index) = i
            next_index = next_index + 1
        Next j
    Next i
End Sub

Function Minimum(list)
    Dim i As Long
    Minimum = list(LBound(list))
    For i = LBound(list) To UBound(list)
        If list(i) < Minimum Then Minimum = list(i)
    Next i
End Function

Function Maximum(list)
    Dim i As Long
    Maximum = list(LBound(list))
    For i = LBound(list) To UBound(list)
        If list(i) > Maximum Then Maximum = list(i)
    Next i
End Function

In my quest I’ve come across some awful games and some that just didn’t quite make if into my list of all time faves. I’ve made some notes on these towards the bottom of the blog post.

1. Word Warp

This isn’t the most attractive looking game and I’m sure the simple graphics on this screen shot won’t make you want to rush out to the iTunes store clutching your 99p. Nevertheless, it hits my Number 1 spot by virtue of the game play. Word Warp has the right balance tension and challenge and you get to feel as though it is testing your mental nous rather than just your nerves of steel.

In order to progress to the next level you have to uncover at least one 6 letter word and after that its down to revealing as many of the remaining words as possible. I like the fact you can see exactly how many words are available, it spurs you on for the final few seconds.

If you find the 6 letter word you get to move on to the next level and build on your score. Fortunately you can leave the game at any point and return in the middle of a challenge without having to start from scratch again.

2. Moxie

Moxie gives Word Warp a run for its money and very nearly came in first. It’s Lynn’s favourite by far and she hasn’t even touched Bejewelled 2 since this appeared on my iPhone.

I think it’s quite an unusual game, I’ve certainly not seen anything similar yet.

It’s rather like a game of patience. A random letter appears in the top right and you have to place it or pass it. The idea is to build words horizontally, changing a letter at a time. Having created a word you have to be careful not to break the chain and create a “twaddle” which will result in lost points. Additional points are available for “Moxie” words which can be animal, vegetable or mineral, depending on your game choice.

It’s an excellent game, intellectually stimulating and without time constraints. They offer a free Moxie lite version but I bought the main app after my first trial. Go for it.

3. Lexic

Now Lexic is a very stylish game. The screen graphics are beautiful and it is one of the few games that I want to play with the sound on. The tiles make a wonderful ivory clatter as they shuffle, giving the whole game a quality vintage feel.

There are loads of games of this style around, sliding across the screen to make ever longer and ever more words. Lexic offers the most accomplished version I’ve tested though. The selection (and rejection) of letters is effortless and with 4 quite different game options available it is an extremely good value game.

This screen shot comes from the Quest option. The idea beyond scoring as many points as you can from the selection of words is to collect all the gold tiles. In this level I have to collect 3 before I can move on but this increases as you step up the levels.

To add complexity there are a number of tile types. The “I” with the red dots will explode after 5 moves if I don’t get rid of it and the game will end. The steel plated “O” remains in-situ while those around it will cascade down and the red “A” will spin to reveal another letter after each go.

There are quite a few more tile types as well. I’ve come across one which spreads itself like the plague. Try getting rid of an exploding “Q” while it is surrounded by an infectious “F”. Quite a challenge.

Another of Lexic’s game option is Blackout which challenges you to clear an entire screen before you can reach the next level. Selected word tiles disappear so you have to think carefully about the few tiles that remain towards the end. You start the game with 10 explosives to clear stubborn letters but they soon run out if you don’t play strategically.

The Stasis option is your standard timed, find as many words as you can, type game.

Lexic is an extraordinarily stylish game.

4. Wurdle

Wurdle offers a 5*5 grid and lets you loose finding words and that is pretty much it, no whizzes and bangs, just a good solid well presented game.

It’s simplicity is attractive and it does the job very well. Slide to select, release to enter or reject, its easy. I’ve knocked a number of games out of my top 5 because they can’t get this part of the game play right.

I like the list of entries that appears at the top and at the end of the game you can see the list of all possible words along with the location on the grid.

If this is your style of word game I don’t think you will be disappointed with Wurdle.

5. Word Jong

Word Jong is another unusual game, this time built in the style of Mahjong.

Unlike Mahjong, where you have to match pairs, Word Jong requires you to spell words. The similarity in the game styles is that you can only select edge tiles and that the goal is to end the game with all the tiles matched and removed.

There are a few aids along the way, such as the occasional wild card and a bomb to remove annoying tiles but even so its a tricky game.

It’s another game without a time restriction so you can ponder to your hearts content and relax over it.

Word Jong is styled as a daily challenge and the menu screen is laid out as a calendar where you can select the days puzzle. I personally find this a bit tiresome but I suppose it does mean you can go back to a particular puzzle or challenge a friend with the same layout. You can go back to any date so you aren’t limited to one puzzle a day.

The Also Rans

Here’s a brief mention of some of the other word games that didn’t make it into my Top 5 list of apps.

Scrabble – you will already know if you are going to like this one. It is a fabulous and faithful conversion of the board game, if you like scrabble then go for it. Controlling the counters and the screen is a breeze and the game play is effortless. I haven’t ranked this one because I see it as a game deserving of its own category, it’s not your 5 or 10 minute filler game like most of the other word game apps I’ve reviewed here.

Codeword – I play this game regularly and it lulls me off to sleep nicely. I used to buy the Times just for the codeword but I am currently boycotting Mr Murdoch so am grateful for the electronic version that will churn out as many new puzzles as I can handle. Although it is one of my stalwart games I haven’t put it in my Top 5 iPhone word games list as I don’t think it translates so well to the small screen. Ideally with codeword you should be able to see the whole grid at once but at that resolution I can’t make out the numbers. You can zoom in of course but then you miss out on the essential overview. If you like codeword I think you’ll be happy but you do have to be a little forgiving of the navigation.

Bookworm – I’ve read some outstandingly good reviews of this game but I can’t understand their enthusiasm, I personally feel robbed. It’s a Pop Cap game and is touted as a match for Bejewelled 2.

It is not. Lexic comes a lot closer to the Bejewelled style of play and carries it off with more finesse.

I can’t say it’s a terrible game but it doesn’t flow well and as I left play school quite some years ago I don’t feel the need for a talking worm on my screen. Word selection is tiresome as I have to tap to enter and unslide to reject and really there are much better word game options available for less cash.

Scramble – This is fun and offers itself up for a good two player challenge game, either by pass and play or live hook up over wifi with others online. This adds the competitive challenge that the other games miss out on.

I haven’t given it a top rating because it seems to accept so many weird words. I had considered it a flaw with its dictionary but maybe the problem is mine and I just need to expand my small word vocabulary.

Word Fu + – This game promised a lot but I just find it too embarrassing to play. It’s your standard make as many words as you can out of an assortment of letters game with the addition of playing along to the accompanying sounds of karate chops and martial art grunts. You have to slap your iPhone down in a Kung Fu styling to accept your word choice – not something I want to do in public and I don’t really want to risk slamming my phone into something solid. I can’t complain too much, this was a free game application but I’ll be deleting it very soon.

Boggle – This is one of the original word games but try as I might I just cannot like this iPhone version. My first complaint is that I have to shake my phone to start and then it throws the die up in the air to jumble. I don’t like shaking my phone around and would prefer a subtle tap option. The second and more sever complaint is the annoying selection method. Where I have to tap dice individually and then tap the end to select or the beginning to reject. It is just not smooth and I can’t be bothered to finish a game when I have so many better examples on my phone.

I thought I’d share my recommendations for what to fill your new iPhones and iPod touch machines with, starting with my take on the top 5 iPhone game applications available from the iTunes store.

My games screen tends to change fairly regularly as I drop the duff purchases and curse the reviews that led me to part with my hard earned pennies.

The 5 top games I’ve selected today have lingered for quite some months, and be warned, they have wasted a good chunk of my life in that period.

Here’s a shot of my current games screen.

Mahjong Solitaire

This is the most played game on my iPhone. I’ve tried out quite a few mahjong apps but so many of them are truly shocking. It must be a difficult challenge to get so many detailed little tiles on the screen but I’ve found this version to have the clearest representation without the fuss of changing inclination or rotation. You can zoom in of course but the standard display works very well.

There is a free Mahjong Solitaire Lite version so try that out first and move up to the fully fledged app when you feel the need for more layouts.

My only gripe with application is that it is timed (see the green bar) and I prefer to play mahjong when I need to chill out and relax. A freestyling option would be a good enhancement I think.

Bejewelled 2

Bejewelled is an all time favourite of mine from my days in the lab. I would spend hours on my laptop matching the coloured jewels while my experiments performed their own little miracles in the background.

This iPhone app is superb, a very faithful representation.

I’ve found myself standing out in the street at night, huddled under a street lamp trying to beat a previous high score as I come home from work. This is high stakes, high stress stuff and extremely addictive – handle with care.

Fieldrunners

The idea with this game is to lay out your weapons or towers in the right places to destroy the ant like invaders who try to get from one side of the screen to the other.

It’s a very simple concept but amazingly engaging. The sound effects help a lot as bombs explode, helicopters whir and soldiers croak it so I recommend playing this with your headphones on. Beware not to miss your tube stop though.

Airport Mania

I must have spent hours playing this game when I first installed it and now feel fully prepared for a role as Flight Traffic Controller at Heathrow.

The general idea is to land the planes, unload your passengers and get the plane back in the skies as soon as possible. At times you may have to refuel and send the planes to the workshop, all while dealing with multiple runways, inclement weather conditions and too many planes. They have a tendency to get agitated if you make them wait too long at any stage.

The levels get pretty intense and here I’ve started to let things get a little out of control with planes backing and sitting needlessly idle.

For a while I heard a lot of hype about Flight Control but it is just not as accomplished as Airport Mania, don’t let the child friendly graphics fool you, this is a very adept game.

Galcon Labs

I’m at a loss how to explain this arcade game.

You are basically directing your ships to colonise other planets, produce more spaceships and ultimately take over the world.

The graphics are very simple but then the best games often are simple. It is a fast pace gamed which is remarkably strategic in its outlook. I haven’t done it justice with this rambling but I don’t think you’d be disappointed if you gave it a go.

So, there we have my top 5 iPhone game app recommendations, what do you think, have I missed any brilliant games? Do I need to reassess my game screen real estate?

Time to try Blogpress which promises some useful functionality such as support for picassa and Flickr web albums, image upload to your blog server, support for landscape mode and posting to multiple blogs and blog platforms. It also supports drafts which is why I’m here in my local caff, tapping away at a review of sorts.

You’ll be able to make your own aesthetic judgements when the post is published. I am able to position the photos in amongst my text (so not just at the end as with WP2) but I don’t think I can control allignment or output size and I haven’t yet found a preview option.

Scrolling is fine in portrait mode though and I’m typing away quite happily.

Tags and categories are easily accessible and I think I can create new ones from the edit screen. iPhone is a new tag so I’ll check for it after publishing.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Balham High Rd,Wandsworth,United Kingdom

I currently let friendfeed handle the linking of flickr uploads to twitter but it’s not ideal. FF alerts the world to my first uploaded image in any batch and I can’t control whether it should be twittered or not. Twittergram on the other hand will only set up a tweet post for images that I have tagged with the word twitter. That has another bonus – if I’ve bothered to tag the photo I will probably also have named it so it will prevent all those messy img2036.jpg style links.

TweetBeep can be a great ego boosting device, sending email notifications whenever you, your website or products are mentioned in a tweet. It’s even able to pull out your website address from a shortened URL, although the domain alerts are only available for premium subscriptions. Of course it doesn’t have to be all me,me,me you are at liberty to enter any search term of interest for your regular notifications.

Favrd is a website providing a time line of all the most favourited tweets and as such provides a very handy way to pick up a few more interesting tweeps to follow. I’ve just found the gay @DerrenBrown – welcome.

I’ve recently had to recreate these delete row macros to install on a new computer and thought it would be useful to keep them filed here on the blog.

This first macro will delete any row in which the cell in the selected column is blank. So in this example, with column B selected, rows 4 & 7 will be deleted.

Sub DeleteRowOnBlankCell()

‘Deletes entire row within the selected column where cell within selection is blank

‘Select column then run the macro

On Error Resume Next

Selection.EntireRow.SpecialCells(xlBlanks).EntireRow.Delete

On Error GoTo 0

End Sub

The following macro will only delete rows if the entire row is blank. Just select the area you want to evaluate and run the macro.

Sub DeleteBlankRows()

‘Deletes the entire row within the selection provided the ENTIRE row is blank.

Dim i As Long

For i = Selection.Rows.Count To 1 Step -1

If WorksheetFunction.CountA(Selection.Rows(i)) = 0 Then

Selection.Rows(i).EntireRow.Delete

End If

Next i

End Sub

To use these macros just copy and paste them into a module within your personal macro workbook (press ALT F11 to open the VBA editor) which will make them available for use whenever excel is open. Sometimes the personal workbook doesn’t show up in the VBA editor and if this is the case I just record a new macro, select the option to save it in the personal workbook, make a few changes to a spreadsheet and stop recording. This will have the effect of creating a new module in  personal.xls, along with a fairly useless macro that can now be deleted.