Rental Workbook on a Tablet PC or iPad, or in Office 365?

we have had many queries as to whether the Rental Workbook would work on a Tablet or iPad hand-held computer.

As the Rental Workbook is highly programmed in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) for Excel, it requires a full install of Microsoft Excel, with Macros Enabled to run.  Most Tablet PC’s or ‘Pad’ computers do not have this capability.

Similarly, the new Cloud version of Office (Office 365) has the same disadvantage, for the same reasons.

This post online gives an example of a similar problem experienced by a Word user:

http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/android-tablet-apps/12532-ms-office-vba-development-tablet.html

Problem after upgrade or renewal

After running an upgrade or renewal, the licence key should be confirmed.

How to do this:

Excel 2007 or 2010

Go Add-ins > Rental Workbook > Utilities > Enter Software Licence

Excel 2003 or older

Rental Workbook > Utilities > Enter Software Licence

New Services

Hello again,

In keeping with my enthusiasm for Excel, I’m going to be putting tips into this blog.  With this in mind, I am also highlighting our training services.

Based in South East Queensland, we can offer a range of Microsoft Training as very reasonable rates.  We come to your offices, so we don’t have the overheads of room hire, so you are only paying for our trainer to come to you.

Before the training, we discuss suitable topics to cover for your firm, and produce PDF help cards for you to keep at your offices.  See our Training page for more information, or contact us using the link alongside this post.

First in a series of Excel tips, is to introduce Paste Special.

Paste Special is a very useful command that can be used for a wide range of copying and pasting techniques. It is designed to make sure that you never need to enter information or create formats more than once. All you do is let Paste Special know which aspect of the cell(s) you want.

It can be used to copy a single element such as comments, column widths, formats or validation without copying the remaining cell values.  The value of copying formats only is that you can ensure that formatting remains consistent throughout your workbook.

As long as the cell remains in copy mode (with the flashing ‘ants’ around the selection), it is possible to copy different elements, one at a time.  For example, first paste the column widths and then without pressing ESC, paste the cell formatting.

1. Select the cell (or range of cells) that you want to copy.

2. Then copy.

Copy cell(s)

3. Go to the location where you wish the properties to be copied.

4. Choose the drop-down from the Paste tool (or Right-click and select Paste Special).

Look at the options for paste special – you can choose to paste only the column widths, or even just the cell values, meaning that the formulas from the cell stay where they are, and only the numbers go to your new location.

Have fun learning how to use Paste Special, and watch for our next post

Steps to paste the options

Interesting Times

This past month has been interesting, to say the least.  The website has played a big part in that, and the blog is now waiting to be ‘blogged’!

So, to blog, or not to blog was the question, and the answer seemed to be a resounding ‘Yes!’

One of my favourite authors was the inspiration for the title of this note – Terry Pratchett. He wrote one of his brilliant novels with interesting Times being the title, playing on the theme that it is often though that ‘May you live in Interesting Times’ was an ancient Chinese curse; it is a popular theory but in reality there is no such curse as far as investigation will tell you.

Excellent idea for a curse I reckon – the imagination creates a picture of the very idea of ‘interesting’ being something other than fascinating or attention-grabbing and that’s how it went last month.

Interesting times sums up the past chaotic month of transferring everything from our old site, to this lovely new one, and then realising that the web change was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and so many other tiny weenie bits & pieces suddenly needed to be done.  All very exciting, and now it feels as though I can finally calm a little and do some posting!

On with the blog!

My aim is for this blog to be loosely based around Excel, starting with simple things, and occasionally getting to the complex functions and features; and Excel Australia’s own product, the Rental Workbook. Occasionally I might digress, and touch on  other interesting topics that catch my imagination.

I’ll update periodically, and bring new ideas and information to the fore - I hope you enjoy!