MS Excell/Powerpoint query

[ianwales]

Hi

 

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this question ,but, I have recentlyput all the timetable information for my layout onto and Excel Database intending to print it out onto cards when the layout is built and ready for operation, however having recently acquired a 2nd hand laptop I wondered if I could achieve the same thing using Powerpoint, but would I have to re-enter all the information into the Powerpoint or is there a way of transferring the info across from the Database?

 

ian

[Stubby47]

Ian,

Depending on your operating system, you can do a couple of things.

Both really are the same principle - copy the portion of the spreadsheet to the clipboard and paste into a PowerPoint slide.

With Windows 7 there is a Snipping Tool which lets you select any part of the screen content. In XP you could use Alt + PrtScrn to capture, then Paint or Paint.net to further refine the selection.

HTH.

Stu

[PLD]

It is possible to place an existing Excel Spreadsheet in a Powerpoint slide:

In all versions of Powerpoint that have propper Menus (not that b****** ribbon thing)

1. select [insert] then [Object] from the Menu.
   
2. tick option for 'Create from file'
   
3. Click on 'Browse' and locate the existing .xls file.
   
4. click on OK
   

Paul

 

N.B. Excel is a presnetation package NOT a database and should not be used as such!! (first lesson of data admin.... )

[Nile_Griffith]

As a slightly sideways approach.

 

Why not format your page size with Excel to be A5 or whatever your intended print size id for your cards and then set up your Excel files "sheets" accordingly to the new page size.

 

That way in the future if you amend or update you are not having to copy and paste or import into another program such as Powerpoint.

 

 

Just a thought.

Edited September 17, 2011 by Nile_Griffith

[AMJ]

Might be better if you have any knowledge to import the Excel sheet into Access and save it as a proper database.

 

As I have IIS installed (web server) on the laptop I'd build a series of web pages to display the information as a web page, I have done something similar for the Inglenook http://www.amjohnson.co.uk/inglenook/

[ianwales]

 

 

N.B. Excel is a presnetation package NOT a database and should not be used as such!! (first lesson of data admin.... )

 

Sorry! Not very good with computers, this probably explains why I can't really get excel to do what i want it to, On my old computer I had MSWorks which had a database which allowed me to view either as a list or the data one page at a time in a form view, excel won't let me do that!!

 

Ian

[The Stationmaster]

N.B. Excel is a presnetation package NOT a database and should not be used as such!! (first lesson of data admin.... )

 

And guess what - I am currently looking for a (Mac compatible as it happens) database program to record my book/ephemera/historical info library onto and have a nice searchable facility to let me find things by subject heading and shelf location as well as title. While visiting one retail establishment on Friday one of their resident 'experts' recommended that I use Excel (seems the fact that I wasn't convinced was probably nearer the truth than his recommendation ).

[Coombe Barton]

If you have Word use the mailmerge facility to print out what you want - it extracts data using Excel spreadsheets as the source. And then you have all the formatting of Word at your disposal.

[spamcan61]

If you have Word use the mailmerge facility to print out what you want - it extracts data using Excel spreadsheets as the source. And then you have all the formatting of Word at your disposal.

 

Yes, I'd set up a Word document in A5 landscape format and do a mail merge directly from the Excel; or pretty much as Nile has suggested set up Excel to use pages in A5 landscape, then force page breaks after every row. The Word method will give more layout flexibility.

 

 

..or email it to me and I'll sort it for you spamcan62@gmail.com

[asmay2002]

N.B. Excel is a presnetation package NOT a database and should not be used as such!! (first lesson of data admin.... )

 

Actually EXCEL is a spreadsheet ..........

[spamcan61]

 

Actually EXCEL is a spreadsheet ..........

 

Which is pretty flexible and easy to use for basic databases.... ( As Microsoft realised many moons ago, and added more data handling functionality)

[kevinlms]

 

And guess what - I am currently looking for a (Mac compatible as it happens) database program to record my book/ephemera/historical info library onto and have a nice searchable facility to let me find things by subject heading and shelf location as well as title. While visiting one retail establishment on Friday one of their resident 'experts' recommended that I use Excel (seems the fact that I wasn't convinced was probably nearer the truth than his recommendation ).

 

 

Too bad your insistent on the Mac format

 

I'm using the excellent BookCat program which is excellent for doing exactly this.

 

http://www.fnprg.com/bookcat/

 

Kevin Martin

[spamcan61]

 

While visiting one retail establishment on Friday one of their resident 'experts' recommended that I use Excel (seems the fact that I wasn't convinced was probably nearer the truth than his recommendation ).

 

I really don't see any issue using Excel for data storage and retrieval, up to a few thousand rows of data anyway - been doing that at work for years. If I was in an environment where many people/computers were querying the data and every second counted I'd use a proper database program.

[The Stationmaster]

 

I really don't see any issue using Excel for data storage and retrieval, up to a few thousand rows of data anyway - been doing that at work for years. If I was in an environment where many people/computers were querying the data and every second counted I'd use a proper database program.

Might work then - all I need is about 3,000-3,500 lines of entry for the library/archive stuff (excluding mags) and the ability to search by title or subject matter or possibly by period covered. At present it can sometimes be a right nuisance knowing that I have got something about, say, Somerset & Dorset operating procedures in the 1930s or the Falmouth branch and then not knowing which room it's in and which shelve it is on (although those are two that I happen to know without a need to search).

[spamcan61]

Might work then - all I need is about 3,000-3,500 lines of entry for the library/archive stuff (excluding mags) and the ability to search by title or subject matter or possibly by period covered. At present it can sometimes be a right nuisance knowing that I have got something about, say, Somerset & Dorset operating procedures in the 1930s or the Falmouth branch and then not knowing which room it's in and which shelve it is on (although those are two that I happen to know without a need to search).

 

My current magazine article database is around 8000 lines of data and works fine in Excel. I make much use of Excel's custom data filtering capabilities, this is for 2003 for example:-

 

http://www.timeatlas.com/5_minute_tips/general/excel_autofilter_makes_spreadsheets_more_useful

 

The two things I would say are think carefully about how many criteria you need for each item before starting the data entry (although it isn't that painful to add extras after the fact) and try and be 100% consistent in your data entry e.g always use S&D (for example) for the Somerset and Dorset, rather than S&D, S & D, S& D, Somerset and Dorset - if you see what I mean.

[Flying Pig]

You can use data validation in Excel to restrict entries to a specified list, which reduces the chances of that kind of multiple spelling.

[spamcan61]

You can use data validation in Excel to restrict entries to a specified list, which reduces the chances of that kind of multiple spelling.

 

Originally I did try and generate my database entirely from drop down lists for each criterion, but TBH I had to add so many manually I gave up; in principle I agree it's the best way to eliminate rogue spelling though.

[PLD]

N.B. Excel is a presnetation package NOT a database and should not be used as such!! (first lesson of data admin.... )

Good grief - what have I started with one thow-away comment??

 

Actually EXCEL is a spreadsheet .....

If you want to start getting pedantic, Excel is actually a spreadsheet (a tabular presentation of data) and more - graphical presentation etc, but all functions geared towards presentation...

 

Which is pretty flexible and easy to use for basic databases.... ( As Microsoft realised many moons ago, and added more data handling functionality)

True - it is adequate for storing a a single table of a few hundred lines (including the job the OP is using it for...), but never will give the flexibility, control and volume handling capabilities of a propper Database (or MS Access...)

 

Paul

[spamcan61]

 

True - it is adequate for storing a a single table of a few hundred lines (including the job the OP is using it for...), but never will give the flexibility, control and volume handling capabilities of a propper Database (or MS Access...)

 

Paul

 

Indeed, when we were doing a lot of data collection and analysis at work a few years back, we gave up with Access pretty quickly, and used Oracle. for the 'big' stuff - around a million data fields, and Excel for the small stuff. Even then we used Excel to access (pardon the pun) the Orcale database via MS Query which in turn populated a pivot table in Excel, that way folks (like me) with little real database experience could still effectively monitor and analyse the data from Excel.