Re: why>?

aaron.kempf@xxxxxxxxx wrote...
you couldn't physically use formulas to VALIDATE other formulas if your
life depended on it.
....

Read carefully. I didn't mention formulas to validate formulas. It's
formulas to validate entries. Whether those entries are constants of
formulas is immaterial. Only their values matter. And, yes, formulas in
spreadsheets can be used to validate entries, both by ensuring proper
data types and reasonable ranges of values.

i never write the same formula twice-- if it's something i reuse i will
write it as a UDF and then i can use it all the time without breaking
my wrist in copying and pasting.
when i change the formula-- i only need to change it in one place.
....

Kinda pointless to use udfs for simple expression transformations,
e.g., bump up values by 5%, but that's inventory cost in one table,
sales price in another, and projected revenues in a third.

I can audit my data with formulas; but i dont have to write a different
formula for each cell

Neither do I. The beauty of [Ctrl]+[Enter].

PS -- does this allow you to prevent numeric fields?
Which is why you should use validation formulas. If no cells in some
range (RNG, say) should contain strings, use a validation formula like
=COUNTIF(RNG,"*")=0.

Does this prevent you from putting a value in a cell that is negative?

Now you're changing the specs, but still simple enough.

=SUMPRODUCT(COUNTIF("Rng",{"*","<=0"}))=0

you can't REACT to changes in data.
....

You may not be able to outside databases. Doesn't mean no one else
does.

it is EASY for me to send an email when a record in a db changes.

it is EASY for me to send an email when data is missing.
....

E-mail being pointless if input is manual, as it often is in
spreadsheets. Simpler to use formulas to display warning and error
messages telling the user what's wrong and how to correct the invalid
entries.

you have to sit around and wait for the data.. . . .
....

True, if you mean wait for the user to enter something. That's just how
spreadsheets work. But simple enough to react immediately after entry.

i can script through long-running jobs and preprocess numbers at night.
....

Big deal. So can I. So can anyone who knows how to automate the
software they use.

i can schedule my jobs.. can you?

Manual data entry, no. Complex simulation modeling, yes, even including
pulling data from electronic sources (even databases) during execution.

.

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