Forum Discussion
I need to count how many times 2 different letters appear in a column & totals in diff. cells
A short Postscript to what I wrote above. I thought it might benefit you to see another way to collect the data, and then how easily the Pivot Table could summarize it. There are other ways as well, maybe even better, to report on it. Either way, the heart of it is the single database.
As an aside, not to fault you for collecting the information the way you do, but you've in essence fallen prey to the very understandable tendency to use Excel as a "neat" way to automate what you might have done on paper...and you can print these sheets out, if somebody wanted to see the back up, they'd be all neat and orderly. But you're in essence taking the green ledger paper paradigm and just using Excel as a modern way to do that.
Excel is wonderful for summarizing databases....but you need to start off with a great database design in order to let it do the heavy lifting. I hope this illustrates what I mean.
- Exactly, I know it is what I was doing but I felt so stupid because I know Excel could be so much more beneficial if I just knew how to do it.
We all begin somewhere, some time. I happen to have begun working with databases and arrays back in the early 1970s....and have been an Excel junkie ever since it came out. Retired in 2002 (I'm 78 yrs old) and now am having fun answering questions like yours here on this message board.
Anyway, if what I sent looks useful, I'd be happy to work to make it a bit more elegant.... and even personalize it for you.
- Well thank you for helping me because I have been trying to figure this out for 2 days now! I think I understand it. Not 100% sure if I do I did add a name and date and day or night. The question I have is does that list just keep going? Just curious if I open another workbook or sheet for each month? Currently I have the same workbook exactly like the one I sent you but for March. We have been informed we will be on this assignment at least until June but most likely until September! The other question I have is I am using another workbook for tracking anyone that is deployed and becomes sick I have to identify who they were with so I can put all them on quarantine. That is another thing I have been working on but didn't know if it can all be incorporated in one. I really want to thank you for helping me.