Scripting Blog [archived]

Formerly known as the "Hey, Scripting Guy!" blog

Hey, Scripting Guy! How Can I Prevent Office Excel From Turning My Imported Numbers Into Dates?

(image) Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a CSV file, and every time I open that file in Office Excel my numbers get converted to dates. How can I import numbers as numbers?-- JR (image) (image) (image) Hey, JR. You know, just yesterday the Scripting Guy who writes this column learned about Yelo, an interesting little company based in New York City...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How Can I Change the Value and Color of a Spreadsheet Cell Based on the Sum of Other Cells in That Spreadsheet?

(image) Hey, Scripting Guy! I’m new to Excel, and I was wondering how to change the color of a cell if specific requirements are met. I have a spreadsheet that has three columns of numbers; I’d like to add the numbers in each row and, if they total 100, set the text of a fourth column to “Yes” and color that cell green. If the ...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How Can I Import a Fixed-Width Data File into Microsoft Excel?

(image) Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I import a fixed-width data file into Microsoft Excel?-- RS(image) (image) (image) Hey, RS. This column is being written on a Friday morning, and so far it’s been a very weird morning at that. For one thing, it’s not raining and – if you look closely – you can even see the sun. (It’s been ...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How Can I Separate The Month From the Year in a Date String Like 122007?

(image) Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a column of data in Microsoft Excel that is formatted as MYYYY (12008 = January 2008) and MMYYYY (122007 = December 2007). I need to split these values into month and year, but I can’t figure out how to do that. Any suggestions?-- DW(image) (image) (image) Hey, DW. Well, it’s finally beginning to warm...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How Can I Cut a Row From One Office Excel Spreadsheet and Paste That Row Into Another Spreadsheet?

(image) Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I cut a row from an Office Excel spreadsheet and paste it into the first unused row in another Excel spreadsheet?-- NC(image) (image) (image) Hey, NC. We apologize if today’s column feels a little damp; as it turns out, those of us in the Seattle area are experiencing another one of the Puget Sound’s...