Forza, Excel, and Me

[DirtDriver]

I thought about sneaking over to Exodus for help but was afraid I might get a boomerang hurled my way! 

DD

[Open2nd]

I know I'm not crazy at least... Here is a submission sheet from FM3..
http://www.exodusracing.net/index.php/topic,394.0.html

And here's a full on spreadsheet, again from FM3. 
http://www.exodusracing.net/index.php/topic,53.0.html

I tried posting the code for the submission sheet here and over at exodus and wound up with an html string that didn't quite work and only linked to the form so I'm not sure if it is possible any longer or not.  Remember, this was posted on an older version of SMF so who knows what all has changed.

[TopBoost]

Getting an error message?

[Open2nd]

<iframe src=\"http://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?key=0Av7f0pv1WEN7dEFtYU1uaDBiUHJISDBSMFJNWTlQMnc\" width=\"760\" height=\"684\" frameborder=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\">Loading...</iframe>

[Open2nd]

^^That is how it shows up now... it seems to remove the

Code: [Select]

[html][/html] tags.  May be as simple as checking allow html in the board settings somewhere..

[Blooze]

Okay, I set it to allow basic HTML... see what ya get now...

[Open2nd]

<iframe src=\"http://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?key=0Av7f0pv1WEN7dEFtYU1uaDBiUHJISDBSMFJNWTlQMnc\" width=\"760\" height=\"684\" frameborder=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\">Loading...</iframe>


Doesn't appear to work still but I have no idea at this point.  I'm looking on the SMF boards and the general consensus is that it won't work, even though I can prove that it used to..  Ideas?

Code: [Select]

[html]<iframe src=\"http://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?key=0Av7f0pv1WEN7dEFtYU1uaDBiUHJISDBSMFJNWTlQMnc\" width=\"760\" height=\"684\" frameborder=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\">Loading...</iframe>[/html]
Just for reference there's the entirety of what I'm pasting in to test this.  I don't know html or much about googledocs to do much else with this.

Maybe this will help out..
http://www.exodusracing.net/index.php/topic,2539.msg24559.html#new

[Blooze]

Let's see if this works

Code: [Select]

Let's see if this <b>works</b>
... and it does.  There's something about that imbed statement that their compiler ain't buying.  And, when I said Allow Basic HTML, it was their words I was using.  Perhaps the imbed statement breaches the "basic" fences...

Here is the results of the Embed code that Skydrive provides...

Code: [Select]

[img]<iframe title ="Preview" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" frameborder="0" style="width:320px;height:180px;padding:0;background-color:#fcfcfc;" src="https://skydrive.live.com/embedphoto.aspx/Forum/Mercury.png?cid=5f198c4533673eaf&sc=photos"></iframe>
[/img]


And here is what works...

Code: [Select]

[img]https://byfiles.storage.live.com/y1pET4JQgL9G2WIGhESL7bqRwZehMLq4g6uupvhnAQ3I9ubrTaul6-Q9JoP0mC205pnz8eIgAjLR68/Mercury.png?psid=1[/img]

I tried that embed crap in a Word Document and it didn't work there either.  So for pictures, I'm gonna stick with sniping the url out of the Temporary Internet Files folder...

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[Moosejaw]

Blooze, is there anything behind the scenes that allows you to create new BBCode tags on the forum?

I seems some forums may be able to add there own tags which appears to display the google document. I've seen [gs] [/gs] mentioned for google spreadsheets.

[Blooze]

I looked at what they provide for BBC docs and settings and there is nothing that looks like that or says anything about imbedded applications.  All of the available BBC tags are allowed.

[EXOR Warpedo]

All I can tell you about what we did over at EXODUS is that we would set up the spreadsheet and then ask Serial or Idle/PH to embed it so they are the ones that know how it was done.

[GICheeze]

Posting large aggrigate times as simply seconds has little or no meaning.  105 seconds as a Leguna Seca time has meaning, and the math is simple.  But 10,531 seconds has little meaning as the F Class Overall time.  The usual 02:55:31 format provides much more information.

But the Total times are the result of adding (95 Circuit) times as seconds together, and the result is the rather large and unwieldy seconds value.

Here is an Excel function that I use to convert a #####.000 time into the hh:mm:ss.000 format.

=IF(G32<3600,"",INT(G32/3600) & ":") & TEXT(INT(MOD(G32,3600)/60),"00") & ":" &
TEXT(MOD(G32,60),"00.000")

In this example, the function itself resides in Cell G33.  Cell G32 contains either the number to be converted or (usually) a cell reference to the number.

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[GICheeze]

Cell ranges A1:D20, usually named, are a pretty strong tool in Excell.  They are in fact, little database tables.  And many times, they ain't so little.  One issue with them is that it can be pretty easy to booger them up.  Usually it is two common maneuvers that boogers them...

• Inserting a new row at the first row in the range.
• Deleting the first or last row in the range.

The trouble is those are the places where inserting and deleting commonly take place.  Here's a couple hints for avoiding busted tables, or cell ranges, or the functions that use them.

Hide your first data row.  Usually, the first row of a table is a number of field name headers.  The next row is where the data starts.  Sorting allows for this with its option for declaring the first row as a header.  It is the second row, or what would be the first row of data that you want to hide...

• A1 - Header
• A2- Hidden
• A3 - First row of data.

Functions that use a column range as a parameter will use this first cell phrase... A$2....  Since A2 is hidden, you will always be inserting and deleting rows behind it, and, therefore, not in danger of wrecking your range.  The absolute row value discourages relative resets when copying the function.

Likewise, I make the last row off limits for data storage, but I seldom hide it.  Usually the row is a narrow (Row Height = 7) delimiter whose background color is modified (light grey).  Lets use row 20.  Now my range for a function in cell D22 would look like this...

=SUM(D$2:D$20)

As you can see, I can copy this function anywhere and it will total the rows 2 thru 20 in whatever column I copy it to.  If I add any new rows, that function will be updated and I don't have to worry about the new rows being outside the range.  Also, if data is deleted, it is between the first and last rows, and the range value is protected.

This isn't that hard to set up, minor details really.  But they can save a ton of gut ache finding the source of errors (rows inserted at the first row are not part of the range), or why your function all of sudden produces the #NAME?# error.

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[GICheeze]

If you ever need to set up a constant iterator within a sortable range here's a handy little item for you...

=ROW() - $A$12

where cell A12 contains the function...

=ROW()

The first function can be copied to any column in rows 13 on down to the end of the range.  Now the range can be sorted by any column, and the iterator column will always read 1, 2, 3...

I use this for producing lables for my Class Row Headers.  There are a number of ways that I can rank, or sort my classes - usually I sort by 1-(Position/Population) - any way I want, and the iterator always reads 1, 2, 3... etc.  If I didn't do this, I would have to renumber the iterator everytime I sorted the table.  With auto-entry it isn't that big a hastle, but hastle is hastle, big or small in a programmer's world.

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[Blooze]

Here are a couple functions that I ran across recently that have made my life a bit easier since I ran into them...

• OR(test1, test2, test...) - returns TRUE if any one of the tests is TRUE.  I imagine it short circuits so the order of the tests may be important for performance's sake.
• AND(test1, test2, test...) - returns TRUE if all of the tests are TRUE.

I used to try something like this...

IF(A or B, 1, 0)

...and I'd get all bent up because I would get a syntax error.  "It had to work somehow", I would think and then I'd put "Find out why it don't work" on my Tuit and then come up with a work around.  Well I finally went and found out...  Those two functions is how it works.

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