Quick-XL
The new way to enter data into Microsoft Excel® spreadsheets.
FAQ

I entered the number "3" into a number field. When I moved to the next field, it displayed ".03". What happened?

When you ran the set-up program, you put "2" into the parameter list. Number fields have one parameter. That parameter is interpreted by Quick Excel to mean the number of decimal places.
If you want to enter the number "3", there are two ways to do it.
You can either enter "3." or enter "300". Either one will give you "3.00".

Is there an easy way to enter today's date?

Yes. Just enter a period (.). If you want yesterday's date, enter period followed by minus (.-). Tomorrow would be period followed by plus (.+), etc. 

I want to report a problem with Quick-XL. When I fill out the form, it asks for a copy of my spreadsheet. My spreadsheet contains confidential information. What should I do?

First, save your spreadsheet.  Then in the columns containing confidential information, substitute some meaningless value. For example, if the column contains a persons social security number, put "000-00-0000" into the social security number of every row of the spreadsheet. Then "Save As.." the altered spreadsheet under a new name, say "Problem.xls". Send us Problem.xls.  In 99% of the cases, we don't need to know the actual information in the spreadsheet, but we do need to know how the spreadsheet is structured and what the definitions look like.

I have to enter customer forms into my spreadsheet. One of the fields I have to enter is a marketing code that tells where the customer came from. I have the marketing code set up as a multiple choice field. Almost every day, there seem to be a few customer forms that have a new marketing code that is not on my list . I have to go out of the Data Entry program and set up the new code in the Setup program, then go back to the Data Entry program and enter the information. Is there a better way?

Yes, there is a better way. You can enter the new marketing code right in the Data Entry program. Here's how. First, hit the "Delete" key. This will erase the current list entry. Next, type the new marketing code. Save the row ("Insert Row" or "Update Row" or press the 'Insert' key). That's all there is to it. The new marketing code will be permenently added to the end of the list.

I make most of my entries using the numeric keypad on the right side of my keyboard. When I want to choose an entry from a multiple choice list, I have to go looking for my mouse which always seems to be buried under a stack of papers. Got any ideas?

Yes, use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to navigate within your multiple choice list. You can also use these keys to navigate through Autocomplete Lists on Short Text and Number fields.

I have a spreadsheet that I use to keep track of sales orders. Whenever a customer orders some merchandise, I enter a row on the spreadsheet with all of the information for the order. When the merchandise ships, I bring up the row with the sales order number and enter the ship date and the quantity shipped. 
The problem is that the form always contains all of the information for the order. It is so busy that it is sometimes difficult to locate the information I want to update. Any ideas?

You can have several alternate views for the same spreadsheet. An alternate view can display only the fields you want for a particular purpose. To use this feature, use the 'Save alternate spreadsheet view' program on the Quick-XL menu to save the view containing all of the fields on the spreadsheet. Give that view the name 'Sales' for example. Then go to the 'Setup' program and change all of the fields that you don't need other than the 'Order number', 'Quantity shipped' and the 'Shipping date' and any 'Formula' fields to 'Ignore' field type. Use the 'Save alternate view' program to save that view. Give the view the name: 'Shipments'. 

Now, when you want to enter new orders, use the 'Activate alternate view' program and select 'Sales'. When you then run the '>>Enter Data' program, a form will come up with all of the fields for the orders you need to enter. When you want to do shipments, use the 'Activate alternate view' program and select 'Shipments'. That way, only the 'Order number', 'Quantity shipped' and 'Ship date' will show up when you run the '>>Enter Data' program.  

The documentation says that I can insert a row into an unsequenced spreadsheet that is similar to an existing row. How do I do that?

First, position the Data Entry Form at the first blank row. This can be done by clicking on the 'Modify row' field and then pressing down and holding the plus key until the maximum row is reached. Second, click on the 'Hide Form' button. This will make the spreadsheet disappear, revealing your spreadsheet. Third, click on any cell on the row that you want to copy. Fourth, click on the 'Reveal Data Entry Form' entry on the drop-down list that appears when you click Quick-XL at the top of the spreadsheet display.

The fields from the selected row will appear on the Data Entry Form, but the row number will be that of the first blank row (the one you selected in the first step above). Now you can make whatever changes you want and then click on 'Insert row' or hit the Insert key.

Please explain Autocomplete lists and what is a supplemental list?

An Autocomplete List is a mechanism that is designed to speed up the process of entering text into short text fields. This idea was not invented by Quick-XL. We have seen it used in Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Google search box, Yahoo search box and many other places. It is quite a popular way to save time and typing when entering sometimes lengthy or complex text fields.

When entering text into a column of a spreadsheet, the best source of entries for the Autocomplete list is the values that are already in the column. However, this presents a problem when the spreadsheet is empty or nearly empty. This is frequently the case in applications where a business starts a new spreadsheet each month. Quick-XL's solution to this is to provide a means to enter a richer set of data than might be contained in the spreadsheet being built for the current month.

In the Setup program, most of the data types can have a parameter that adds additional descriptive information to the definition of each column of the data spreadsheet. Numeric fields have the number of decimal places, Formula fields have the actual formula, Multiple Choice fields have the actual choices. Likewise, Short Text fields can have the file name of an Excel workbook file (the supplemental list) that has the same structure as the one you are working with. This can be last month's Excel workbook or a standard workbook or some other Excel workbook, but it must have a spreadsheet in it that has the same name as your spreadsheet and has the same structure (column names, column order and data types) as your spreadsheet.

When you want to enter data into one of the Short Text fields, you can either begin by typing or hit the Down Arrow (or Up Arrow to start from the end of the list). If you begin by typing, a drop-down list will appear, all of the entries of which begin with the characters you have typed so far. At any point, you can hit and possibly hold down the Down Arrow (or Up Arrow) key. This will scroll through the Autocomplete list. When you have reached the entry you want, hit the Enter key.

Yesterday, I tried to enter the name of an Excel file to use as an Autocomplete list for a Short Text field for which an Autocomplete list had not previously existed. How do you do this?

The way to force the file selection dialog to appear. Just type an asterisk (*) as the first character in the Parameter field on the Setup display.

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