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bobhc

bobhc

Excel Ninja
There is a huge amount of information on “how to’s” on this site but a lot of people skip the search button at the top right, maybe Chandoo could make it bigger with multi-coloured glowing outline and flashing animations :). And ask a question that has been asked and answered many times before.

Most questions posted can be categorised in to specific areas of Excel, such as, Vlookup, VBA, Macros, Conditional Formatting, Date functions, Time functions and more, although Chandoo has many examples and lessons on all these subjects, could there not be a list of named folders on the right hand side of the forum page which would have a list of short cuts to all related postings to that subject. I realise to automate this the information would have to be pulled from the subject line and at times these are not as specific as they could be, but I am sure the Nijas would be on top of it and move as required.

There then would be a library of subjects that people could directly search.
 
Bobhc


You are also correct, that there is a large resource here which does require some level of organisation like you have suggested


Strangely enough Chandoo and I spent a lot of time talking about possible solutions to this when Chandoo was in Perth.


Data doesn't have to come from the subject line, as posts can also be tagged


The main idea we came up with was a manually constructed index based around key topics as you suggested

Chandoo.org posts and forums posts would then be added to the various topics as relevant and only if they add value to helping a user understand the topic or an implementation of the theme

The would also be a group of index topics which would not be Excel functions per se but would include How to's, Templates etc


I am sure Chandoo would appreciate any feedback or ideas you or others could suggest to assist with this
 
Hi Bobhc & Hui..


good discussion. Here is what I am thinking these days.


1) replace the search bar with auto-complete enabled search. This helps people to find a topic they want without re-posting.

2) Show previously posted similar topics on "New topic" screen. I am not sure how to get this done, but I am sure it can be done.

3) Make search bar more prominent.

4) Replace the current menu on top with something more elaborate, like Hui mentioned. This requires a good bit of thinking and organization. With so much of content and so many different users, striking right balance is tricky.


Any more ideas?
 
That would be great but dont forget some of us dont know enough excel to always know what we should be looking for and sometimes need a pointer from an excel ninga :)
 
Lymm

That’s the whole point; people are not sure where to start and for some reason are reluctant to put key words in to the search engine. If there were some kind of catalogue of different Excel subjects then either people could go directly to the one that is, for example named Vlookup, or they could be directed by board members who have read their post or by the search engine.

The original post I sent was about the vast amount of knowledge that is in the Chandoo site and that as it has grown over the years it has become a bit more difficult to find the answers. This is more so for those you, as you point out, are new to Excel and just do not know where to start and what to ask.
 
Is there any way that if a member has no. Of posts less than 2 or 3 and when he / she starts a new topic a message is flashed before starting topic guiding the member to sticky posts and prompting them to use search bar first for their qurstion. This way they may get what they want and duplication of topics may be avoided.
 
Hi, shailyog!

Do you want to reduce my posts to less than a half? Don't dare to even think about that, I wouldn't have earned the Excel Ninja badge if that happened...

Regards!
 
No SirJB7, not at all


My intention was only to help to reduce duplication of your efforts so that you can enjoy your saved time with your favorite beer and......... :)
 
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