Microsoft Office Q&A: Ask anything (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

frozenheron7 said:Downloaded it and works fine for me too 🙂
Just had to right-click -> update field on that last cell.
Running the 2013 version

and it runs on Word 2007 without any issues

Adam Mendoza4 said:Hey, quick question—in Word 2007 on Windows 7, how do I set it up so only the first page has a header and footer, while the rest stay clean?

You gotta use Section Breaks in Word. Different headers and footers are handled via sections, or just hit those Section Breaks in Word. Plus, using different sections in Word lets you set up unique chapter headings throughout your document.

I need some help here! Everything was working perfectly fine until suddenly, all the stuff I transferred from Corel to my Word document just lost its graphics—now it just says EMBED CorelDraw.Grafic.7 where the images used to be.
I'm running Word 2007.
How do I fix this so the graphics actually show up again? It prints out totally fine, which makes no sense.
Thanks in advance!

I don't mean to be a bore, but I am honestly at my wit's end trying to figure out what's going on here...
My colleagues' computers just won't cooperate when it comes to running macros. The system clearly flags the file as a macro-enabled document or template, but there isn't a single line of actual macro code in the entire thing. It's like chasing a ghost.
The Security settings are already set to Disable All macros with notifications.

So, let's say I actually manage to track down the fix (🙂). What I really want is to be able to trigger the activation using a quick keyboard shortcut, something like CTRL + SHIFT + S.
Is there any way to write a snippet in VBA that tells Excel: "Hey, use this specific shortcut to enable macros"? I noticed that you never see anything like that explicitly written in the code... or am I just missing something obvious? Or perhaps there's some other clever way to force the whole process through?
🙂

I’m not entirely convinced you can actually define a keyboard shortcut directly through the code itself.

However, there is a distinction in Excel regarding where a macro lives—it can either be stored globally within the Excel application itself or tucked away solely within the specific workbook you're currently working in.
It’s possible that your macro was recorded at the application level, which would explain why it seems to trigger across every single file you open.

If you save the macro directly into the workbook instead, it becomes portable and stays with that specific file; that might just be the root of the issue you're seeing.

vividbison82 said:How do I turn this off so it looks normal again? It prints fine, though.

Check if you did it like this.
Steps:

Kyle Johnson2, you hit the nail on the head. The file is definitely a *.dotm, but here’s the kicker: whenever I try to open it on a different computer—whether I’m moving it via a thumb drive, sending it over email, or uploading it to something like SharePoint—the macros just vanish into thin air.
I honestly can't wrap my head around why this keeps happening. I haven't run into any issues with Excel yet when I move files with saved macros from one machine to another...

It seems like Word is the only one giving me grief.
Updating the field isn't working for me either (the option doesn't even show up when I right-click the original document, and hitting F9 does absolutely nothing), and I really want the user to be able to just use a keyboard shortcut to get the result.

Assigning a shortcut in Word just isn't the same process as it is in Excel. There isn't an "Options" button in that macro dialog box like you mentioned (you know, the Alt+F8 => select macro => Options route). It feels like so many things in Word just don't work the same way they do in Excel...

🙂
Anyway, thanks so much for all your help and for taking the time to look into this. 🙂

Carol Rivera32 said:Assigning shortcuts in Word isn't the same as in Excel (you don't get that "Options" button in the macro window like you mentioned: ALT+F8 => select macro => Options), honestly, a ton of stuff just doesn't work the same way as Excel...

I wasn't even talking about Word, I meant Excel since that's what you brought up.

Alright, let's get back to the Word macro.

When you're building a template and making a Macro, you gotta assign a shortcut or maybe just add a procedure that triggers automatically whenever the Word doc opens.

Haven't messed around with this much myself, but these links might help along with the example in this message (unzip it and run the *.dotm) => Let me know if this one actually works for you.

I think you're messing up how you save the macro in VBA. You shouldn't be saving it where it references Normal.dotm; it needs to point to the actual TemplateName.dotm file—meaning it belongs in ThisDocument.

Basically, if you send over the template file but the macro stays stuck in your own Normal.dotm, then obviously the user can't run it.

Bottom line: with a *.dotm file, you need to include the macro itself, which is why yours isn't working right now.

Check out these links: LINK1, LINK2, LINK3

Is it even possible to use Excel to manage inventory for a bar? I mean, could you set it up so that when I log a single cocktail, it automatically breaks down all the individual ingredients and subtracts them from my current stock levels?

crimsondriver37 said:Is there any way to set up an inventory system in Excel for running a bar? Like, is it even possible to make it so that when I log one cocktail, it automatically breaks down the ingredients and deducts them from the current stock levels?

Just thinking out loud here, but you could probably pull that off using some complex nested IF statements. Honestly, though, it would be a hell of a lot easier to just slap a button on there and program a tiny macro with a few lines of code to handle the heavy lifting.
Can you send over the Excel file—or at least the specific part you're working on—so we can take a look?

Though, if you really want to do this right, a proper database is the way to go. Microsoft Access is probably your easiest bet for keeping things organized.

I'll follow up with more details later, I just wanted to see if this was even possible first. I tried playing around with an IF function in Excel, but I think I need something a bit more heavy-duty than that. For example, let's say I have a Cuba Libre cocktail recipe that calls for Coca-Cola, lime, and rum. If I sell two of those cocktails, can an Excel sheet or maybe Access automatically subtract those specific ingredients from my inventory the moment I log the sale?
I'm not quite sure how to explain it better, haha.

crimsondriver37 said:Sold 2 cocktails. Can I use Excel or maybe Access to make it so once I log a sale, it automatically subtracts the ingredients from my stock?
don't know how to explain it better lol

It’s not impossible, but you need some serious organization to build something like an inventory tracker. You basically need tracking for incoming stock, outgoing sales, and current totals. Access could handle it, but honestly, you’d probably need a pro programmer—not just an Access guy, but someone who can code in whatever language fits best—to build it exactly how you want it.

If you try to DIY this in Excel without knowing what you're doing, you'll end up needing someone else to fix it anyway. Plus, you risk messy data or accidental deletions.

Before you dive in, ask yourself a few things:

- What’s the actual goal here?
- How does this fit into your daily workflow?
- Have you considered all the variables? (Like, tracking stock by unit vs. volume. For cocktails, you’re looking at liters, deciliters, or milliliters, right?) 😉
- How much cash are you willing to drop on this?
- If you go the Excel route, do you actually have the skills to troubleshoot when things break or if you need to scale up?
- If you pay for a custom .exe app, you’re just the user. You enter the data, and the dev handles the heavy lifting—but yeah, that costs money.
- Is there a long-term ROI for this investment?
- And look, I’m not trying to talk you out of it, but think about the time sink. If you grind away at Excel yourself, are you okay with the risk of everything crashing? Or would you rather pay a pro to build it so it's ready whenever you need a change?

For example, check out this complex invoice setup done in Excel. This took a lot of work to organize properly. A programmer would have built the backend so you'd just see a simple entry form. This invoice structure is pretty similar to what you're asking for.

hollowmaker11 said:If anyone happens to know 😁

I have two tables. The left one works like a register, totaling the cash by denomination—for example,

50 units of $333
30 units of $167, and so on. The Total cell shows how much money is in the drawer. For the first shift, this Total cell also serves as my Cash Handed Over cell.

Then the second shift starts, and they enter that exact amount into their Starting Balance cell—essentially, the closing balance of the first shift becomes the starting balance for the second.

That’s where I run into an issue.

At the end of the second shift, when they log their denominations in the left table (since they obviously made some sales too),🙂 it messes up my Starting Balance cell. My question is: which formula can I use to lock that starting balance? I need it so that even when the second shift updates the denominations in the left table, the starting balance remains fixed as the closing balance from the first shift.

Thanks so much to everyone who takes the time to understand this and help out.😁

Does anyone 🙂

hollowmaker11 said:...
And that’s where I hit a wall

At the end of the second shift, when the crew is logging their inventory in the left table—which makes sense since they probably sold some items—the "Starting Balance" cell keeps getting messed up. My question is, what kind of formulas can I use to lock that starting balance in place? Basically, I want the starting state to stay fixed as the final amount from the first shift, even when the second shift starts messing with the numbers in the left column.

Thanks so much to anyone who takes the time to help me out with this!

Someone 🙂

Why would that be an issue?
The starting balance for the second shift should always match the closing balance from the first shift. To make sure this works perfectly, that cell needs to be a formula rather than just a typed-in number. That way, you won't have any discrepancies because they'll always be identical. For example, if the closing balance is in C2 and the starting balance is in D2, then D2 should just be the formula =C2.

Kyle Johnson2 said:I haven't really messed around with this much myself, but I might be able to point you in the right direction. Check out these links along with an example I attached to this message (just unzip it and run the *.dotm file) => Let me know if this sample actually works for you

Could you please upload that again? Thanks!
thx

Jack Hayes said:Why would that be an issue?
The starting balance for the second shift should match the closing balance of the first shift, but you need to use a formula instead of typing in the number. That way, there won't be any discrepancies because they will always be identical. For example, if the closing balance is in cell C2 and the opening balance is in D2, then D2 should just contain the formula =C2.

Unfortunately, that's not working... whenever I set it up that way, both cells change as soon as I enter numbers into the left table.

I really want to extend my sincerest thanks to everyone who took the time to listen and offer their support.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I don't exactly move at lightning speed when it comes to these things, but I truly would love to lend a hand—provided there's a way for me to actually be useful. If you think I can help, just shoot me a DM.

Carol Rivera32 said:Can you re-upload that? please
thanks

Link's working fine

btw:

hollowmaker11 said:i've got two spreadsheets. the left one is set up like a basic list, counting up cash by specific items... and that's where I'm stuck... thanks a ton to anyone willing to actually wrap their head around this and help me out 😁

Man, those two example tables of yours would be worth their weight in gold if we weren't just spinning our wheels here.
Put in a little effort and show us an actual example of what you're trying to pull off (add some comments, show what links to what, color-code the results, etc... get creative 😉

Kyle Johnson2 said:Those two example spreadsheets of yours would be worth their weight in gold if we weren't just spinning our wheels here.
Try putting a little more effort into this and show us an actual example of what you're aiming for—maybe include some comments to explain the logic, highlight the results, color-code things, etc. Be creative! 😉

Exactly. I don't want to be pushy, but I really think there's a flaw in the core concept here. 😂>

@hollowmaker11/">@@hollowmaker11:
One shift ends with a specific final state for a certain APENS structure.
The next shift starts from that exact point and then reaches its OWN unique final state for that APENS structure. Why on earth would the second shift need to mess around with the first shift's data?!