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Alternative to Nested IFs in Excel

Using Excel for multiple comparisons with Nested IFs has some limitations. There a couple of different solutions. One would be to use values on a separate sheet and the vlookup function. Another option is to use multiple IFs separate by an ampersand (&). Here's and example: IF(NOT(ISERROR(FIND("Incident Created",A2))),"Incident Created page",""))&IF(AND(ISERROR(FIND(" | ",A2)),ISERROR(FIND("Community",A2)),ISERROR(FIND("Search Results",A2))),"Help Landing page","") Note the false condition sets an empty value. I see a benefit in that the code is much easier to read, as nesting can become difficult to follow. The down side is you need to test the negative condition of other IFs so you don't have multiple matches.

Replaced my Macbook with a PC

For the last 4 months I've been using a Macbook at work... my first Mac since the late 90s. I did this so I could enjoy all the benefits Mac lovers rave about. Today I replaced the Macbook with a Lenovo Win7 laptop, because there were more hindrances than benefits. The funny thing, I'm not sure if it's caused by Microsoft or Apple. Here's what I'll miss about my Macbook: Slightly lighter weight Scrolling using two-fingers on the touchpad My Lenovo does that too (though not as smooth). Here's why I gave up my Macbook: Several features of Outlook unavailable Date difference in Excel No Visio or Project Some websites require IE So the Mac fanatics could say it's because Microsoft has purposefully lagged behind in Mac versions of their software. Microsoft people could claim it's too costly to develop for an additional platform when Windows runs on 80%+ of all desktops and laptops. Regardless, I have a job to do and it's much easier on Wi

Start Application on Startup on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

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Sometimes we want programs to automatically start for us when we start our computer. For Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, it takes just a few steps. Open System Preferences . Look in the System section and select Accounts . Select Login Items . You will see a list of applications already set to start when you start your Mac computer. Find the + and - boxes below the list and select + . Navigate to the application you want to start when you start your Mac computer, and select it. Select the Add button. Repeat for additional applications, and close the Accounts window when you're done.

Dates differ for Excel between Mac and Windows

Who knew? The default date system in Excel for a Mac is different than that used on Windows. I was working across spreadsheets, referencing a column from one to a column from another and my results were driving me crazy. First it appeared my results column was just not formatted for dates as I was just getting numbers. But when I changed the column to be formatted for dates, I got dates but they were off by about 4 years. After checking my formula, which I've used countless times ( Lookup values in Excel ), I finally went searching and found this article, Microsoft Excel Date Systems for Windows and Mac . Sure enough, one of the spreadsheets I had created on my Mac while the other came from a Windows user. Bottom line, Windows uses the 1900 date system while Macs use the 1904 date system. Before you create a spreadsheet you can change the date system, but if changed afterward it will also change your dates, so be careful. Read Microsoft Excel Date Systems for Windows and Mac

Command Prompt on Right-Click

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In Windows XP it was fairly easy to add a link to the right-click menu in Explorer, so when clicked it would open the Command Prompt at that location . I posted a how-to in April 2008 on how to accomplish this. With the release of Windows Vista and Windows 7, the Tools >> Folder Options is no longer available, so the task required a new solution. I've identified 3 possible alternatives: All 3 options in use Hold the Shift-key while right-clicking. This is built-in behavior. Update the Registery. Open the Registry by entering "regedit" at the Run prompt. Navigate to the following key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell. Create a new key called "Command Prompt." For the default value, add the right-click menu name, such as "Open Command Prompt Here." Navigate down to your new "Command Prompt" key (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\CommandPrompt). Create another new key called "Command." For the default value, add

Insert Clipart causing install loop problem for MS Office apps

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On my work laptop, running Win7 Pro, all of my MS Office apps are all 2007 except for Visio 2003. When Visio was installed, for whatever reason the clipart was not installed. If I tried to use the clipart, it would start the install wizard, ask for a path to the install disk and eventually fail as I didn't have the disk. This is unfortunately is expected behavior. But, when I go to insert clipart from my other Office apps, they run into a problem due to Visio. It goes through the same Microsoft Office Visio 2003 install wizard, and after failing, it will open the clipart that WAS installed for 2007. I search for solutions, but never found one. This works for some install loop type problems, but not my specific case. Enter one of the following using Run... . Substitute Excel, Visio, or PowerPoint for Word as necessary: Office 2007: reg add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Options /v NoReReg /t REG_DWORD /d 1 Office 2003: reg add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\

Creating Multiple Email Profiles for Outlook

Want to use Outlook to access 2 or more email accounts? By adding additional Profiles to Outlook, you can avoid multiple email clients. The upside is that you can share your archive folders across your accounts. The downside is that you can only manage one account at a time. To add a new Profile, follow these simple steps: Open Control Panel Click Mail Click the Show Profiles button Click the Add button Provide a Profile Name Complete the Account Setup Wizard  Once created, you can select to be prompted for the Profile you want to open when starting Outlook or you can have it always open a specified Profile. Once you have more than one Profile, you can force Outlook to open to a specific Profile by configuring Shortcuts for each. Create a copy of your existing Outlook Shortcut Right-click the new Shortcut and select Properties On the Shortcut tab, go to the Target text box At the end of the line (after the ending quote), add the following on the same line: space /p