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Controlling User Input

L

leimst

Member
I have a spreadsheet that requires periodic updating from approximately 10 different users. I'm trying to constrain and control their input because I'm finding that they are not following my directions, are adding rows and columns, inputting in the wrong columns among all the usual ways that users can create a spreadsheet mess. I want to make sure I'm doing all I can do to bring order to the process. I have locked cells that do not require their input and have applied data validation where I can to the cells that do require user input but they still even copy and paste over those cells. Are there any other tools or methods I can use that I am not currently taking advantage of?


Thank you in advance for any help!
 
Leimst


Firstly, Welcome to the Chandoo.org Forums


I prefer a big stick...

Only Joking


Education.

Sit them down as a group

Show them what you require from them

Show them why you need them to follow instructions

Ask what the problems they have are?

Listen to their concerns and issues
 
Thank you for the welcome. I love the site, forum and daily emails!!! Just discovered Chandoo.org about a month ago.


Thanks also for the guidance...just wanted to make sure I was doing all I could! :)


Leimst
 
Hi Leimst ,


If you are at ease with VBA , the ideal would be to use Userforms for data entry , so that the users never get to play around with the worksheets.


You can ensure a maximum level of data validation and security.


Narayan
 
Good day

I'm with Hui on this one, a big, very big stick, laid on the office desk in a prominent position tends to get their attention when trying to explain to a bunch of steel workers that their computer skills are on par with a single cell jelly fish
 
Hi, leimst!


After reading b(ut)ob(ut)hc comment, I wonder if I should have written what I thought when I read Hui's post... so here it is. I apologize if it's considered offending or inappropriate, nothing farther from the intention. Here it is:


Agree with Hui about educational process, but if once tried and no results got, I would face B plan: a risky one but effective.

Take the less important (yeah, I know that it sounds awful but's the truth) human resource of the project, or one not critical (fool but not dumb) that had one of the worst behaviours, call the person to your office and pronounce the f&f (famous and feared) Donald Trump's three words: "you are fired".

Then replace the resource, have a new meeting and ask my sometimes used "who's next?".

If everything goes Ok, you're done; if not... well, you yet know what will be your boss' first three words next time he calls you to his office.

And if not, well, remember 1980's or 90's Tom Peters book In Search Of Excellence? ... "En una jerarquía todo empleado tiende a ascender hasta alcanzar su nivel de ineficiencia" (spanish version)... in english something like "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence".

And the same applies climbing the hill towards the top direction.


Regards!
 
Narayank991 - Unfortunately, I do not know VBA but want to start learning!


SirJB7 - I couldn't agree with you more but wouldn't you know it...it's upper management that is utilizing this spreadsheet and therefore they are who I'm having trouble with!


Thanks again for all of the help!
 
Hi ,


I am sure there are a lot of good articles / links on user forms ; the only point is that all user forms will involve some amount of VBA to validate and process the data. Are you willing to take this route ?


Narayan
 
Hi, leimst!


Just fyi, you can implement a sort of data validation from within Excel worksheets (without using user forms, even using them if preferable if there are a lot of fields to validate upon combinations of them), using the Change event for each Worksheet object. You'll have to get involved too with VBA, but if the validations are a few this method may require less work.


Could you please upload a sample file with the description of the validations required? Give a look at the second green sticky post at this forums main page for uploading guidelines.


Regards!
 
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