[Year 12 IT Apps] Bad, Excel. Bad!

[Timmer-Arends]

Hello Mark
There's been some discussion of the SDLC recently and I think your excel 
problem is a good exmaple of the MS-SDLC:
Stage1: Get V1.0 of a program in a certain application area out there in the 
market regardless of whether or not it works just to scare off other 
developers
Stage2: Upgrade the program so that it more or less does what it was 
supposed to do in the first place
Stage3: Further upgrade the program by adding many, many, many features that 
are not generally useful
Stage4: Create a whole lot of default settings because there are too many 
not-so-useful-features for the average person to have to deal with. Make 
sure the default settings are well hidden, possibly undocumented, and where 
possible anti-intuitive.

Regards
Robert T-A

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Kelly" <kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au>
To: "Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List" 
<itapps at edulists.com.au>
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 8:23 AM
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] Bad, Excel. Bad!


> Yep, Robert.  That does the trick!  Thanks.
>
> And a big kick in the head for Microsoft :-)
>
> Timmer-Arends wrote:
>> look in tools menu -> options ->edit->extend data range formats anf 
>> formulas
>>
>> I think that's the 'helpful' culprint
>>
>> regards
>> Robert T-A
>> Brighton SC
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alex Hopkins" 
>> <a.hopkins at bcc.vic.edu.au>
>> To: "'Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List'" 
>> <itapps at edulists.com.au>
>> Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 3:10 PM
>> Subject: RE: [Year 12 IT Apps] Bad, Excel. Bad!
>>
>>
>>> Yes, but that's where the fun starts.
>>>
>>> Set the formula to sum(a1:a5) *before* entering the "1"s, and watch 
>>> Excel
>>> change the formula as soon as you've entered the sixth value.
>>>
>>> I notice that entering a "2" and then changing to a "1" inhibits this 
>>> odd
>>> behaviour.  What's going on?
>>>
>>> -Alex Hopkins
>>> Bayside Christian College
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au 
>>> [mailto:itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au]
>>> On Behalf Of P.DiNatale
>>> Sent: Monday, 15 October 2007 3:00 PM
>>> To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List
>>> Subject: RE: [Year 12 IT Apps] Bad, Excel. Bad!
>>>
>>> Mark,
>>>
>>> Your formula in section A is sum(a1: a10)  it should be sum(a1:a5)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Phillip Di Natale
>>> Outdoor Camps Co-Ordinator
>>> Ph: (03) 9409 8836
>>> email: p.dinatale at stmonicas-epping.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au
>>> [mailto:itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Mark Kelly
>>> Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 2:50 PM
>>> To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List
>>> Subject: [Year 12 IT Apps] Bad, Excel. Bad!
>>>
>>> A curious problem with Excel.  Please play with the attached file.
>>>
>>> It seems Excel thinks it knows better than I do about what formulas
>>> should be, and I can't work how how to stop it.  Something to do with
>>> its 'advanced formula error' fixing, I guess.  Very annoying!
>>>
>>> To try it out, just put "1" into each of the shaded cells and watch what
>>>
>>> happens to the formula for the total of section A!
>>>
>>> Any ideas for fixes?
>>>
>>> TIA
>>> Mark
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Mark Kelly
>
>
> -- 
> Mark Kelly
> Manager - Information Systems
> McKinnon Secondary College
> McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
> Direct line / Voicemail: 8520 9085
> School Phone +613 8520 9000
> School Fax +613 95789253
> kel AT mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au
>
> Webmaster - http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au
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> Moderator: IT Applications Mailing List
>
> You'll know when we are officially a civilised race: our schools have all 
> the money they need and the Air Force has to run a chook raffle to buy a 
> new bomber.
>
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