Counting Initials....

santeria

Well-known Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2003
Messages
1,844
I'm not really sure how to approach this.....

But, here are the circumstances;
I'll have a series of cells in a column. Each cell will have a possible 1- maybe 10 entries ( theoretically More), and each will have an initial a space, then a date.

If there are 6 possible sets of initials, and 6 Cells down the Bottom of the Column, how can you count the occurence of each set of initials in each cell ( maximum at this stage of about 76 cells) ?


Any help, suggestions, references to archives, etc., much appreciated.

Ta

(y)
 

Excel Facts

Return population for a City
If you have a list of cities in A2:A100, use Data, Geography. Then =A2.Population and copy down.
Use countif if you just want to count the total
Sumif if you want to sum a column of matching data
SumProduct if you want to test multiple value and count the total where all values are true
 
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"Also, will SUMPRODUCT and SUMIF be just as appropriate ? "

DJR's response notwithstanding, Santeria, you've got over 1,300 posts now - shouldn't we be expecting you to be trying out solutions on the data you've got & asking specific questions, rather than simply offering cries for help :) I mean, if you think a sumproduct() approach might work, why haven't you tried it - if it's not worked, just report the data, formula & results & we take it from there...

p.s. give the moderately complex operational estimation problems you seem to be dealing with, how's the statistics research that was suggested earlier going?
 
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Overall, I get a lot of wisdom about Excel no matter if they have 70 posts, or 5,000 posts.

For the small amount of material I have posted of late, the canvassing for views and methods has been productive for me, and helpful for people I know here at where I work.

I'm trying hard at doing what i do, and i don't claim to have any "whiz" abilities. I just try as hard as I can, and be as systematic as i can.
I aim for the simplest solutions, but occasionally and more often than not, one line of enquiry dies, and I have go back to basics.

Most of the reports I have had to put together yield more with simple layouts, than with advanced statistical analysis. The biggest task I have had to date is Notes-Excel Integration... I still don't understand what the code does, but the stuff that works, works well. The rest just dies.

I'm not a natural coder ... I just try as hard as hell, and eventually something works. Some of the code has been revised on the basis of randomly taking out code lines, and putting them back. Persistence has been the key to getting done what I need to get done.

I appreciate everyone's help, and I don't friviously ask things. I can honestly say I have learned a lot in terms of method, but I still have a long way to go.

:eek:
 
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"The biggest task I have had to date is Notes-Excel Integration..."

best of luck, 'cos frankly that task is a mostrous ****er.

FWIW, I did not intend to disparage your general approach to seeking advice / solutions - merely to point out that if you already had an idea about the form of a solution, you should probably investigate it on your data first - given the flexibility of excel, the question "will this do it.." could only produce the general remark "possibly, depending on...". you are surely in a position by now to experiment!
 
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Actually, yes and no.

Sometimes I'll get a Sheet delivered to me, and a set of Guidelines, and the brief is "Make it happen"... and if the terms are outside that of Excel, then I say so, but of late, I get vague guidelines, and the file turns up 1-6 weeks later.

I also have to reverse engineer some Sheets that have clean source data, and yet the formula claims to be subject to the rules of excel logic... well no, it's not so.
I get so close in to the data, that an easy solution is probably there, but I can't see the wood for the trees when the data is on average 20-30 columns wide, and separated by Half Hour Increments, and the glossary for formulas is closer to Powerbuilder than it is to Excel.

In most cases, someone else can see a solution that falls into the "Doh" category from my side.

As to answers that have contingent statements, I am fine with that, basically because anything that gives me an alternative works well with me.

The Lotus Notes integration is difficult because it does not seem to follow syllogistic logic. However, I'm fine with that. I used to Programme Ericsson MD110 Phone Systems based on a 20 volume manual set.

Overall, I do experiment as much as I can, but most of my successful experiements get thrown in favour of some other request that I am basically here for, which is that whatever a person I am supposed to "serve" here in the division, has an idea, and I have to find a way to implement it.
And for those who have to produce a report under similar circumstances, they know that time frames, and practicality do not go hand in hand.

I Use the Books, the CDs, and E-Book, and whatever I can to get the job done. But sometimes, the diference between SUMPRODUCT, SUMIF, and COUNTIF, is usually a matter of experience.

I had to do a quick sheet to add Percentages to a Fiscal Section literally last minute last night, and then I tried implementing a short cut formula this morning. The long formula was =(D6*0.02)+D6 , however, this needed clearing up, so I thought that if I had a 1.02 in a separate cell, and paste Specialed the formula in to multiply D6, I would get the Same result, but no... I had to do =(D6*1.02) to make the concept work.
It was not just one cell, but a sheet of monthly payments.

Whats the difference between the two ?
None that I can see.
But only one worked.

Thats a basic example, but one I do most days. I can't think of all possibilities, and some people have the mindset where they can think of amazing variations on standard Excel formulas ... so to my mind, it is always worth at least asking things ... with People like Aladin, Tommy Gun, NateO, Yogi Anand, and etc ... the way these people come up with variations on standard formulas amazes, and impresses me ... not to mention those nifty little Macros. As many Macros as I have done, I still get impressed when CBrine Comes up with a few Macros that save my hide and cut hours off my work load.

Basically, as much as I may know, there is a lot I don't know, and I am grateful for the help I get here, and I am grateful for the Archives as well.


:(


[quote="PaddyD...only produce the general remark "possibly, depending on...". you are surely in a position by now to experiment![/quote]
 
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