Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

Office & productivity software forum: Excel 2003 a problem similar to finding first non zero value

by: rcgyuk March 25, 2010 4:10 AM PDT

Like this

0 people like this thread

Staff pick

Excel 2003 a problem similar to finding first non zero value

by rcgyuk - 3/25/10 4:10 AM

Hi,

I have a block of data in excel, representing monthly customer sales.

The data is laid out with first 2 columns as customer number and name, and then 36 columns of figures. These columns are headed by the year and month in the format YYYYMM in the first row.

The problem is I need to add a column C to find the first month each customer started trading.

In plain text, I want the formula to find the first entry in the row that isn't zero, then look at row 1 in that column, to return the year and month number for the first time that customer had turnover.

As there are several hundred rows of data, and several sets of data, this is too big to do manually.

Does anyone have a solution to this one ?

Many Thanks


Reply
Report offensive post
Email to friend

Re: finding value

by Kees Bakker Moderator - 3/25/10 4:23 AM

In Reply to: Excel 2003 a problem similar to finding first non zero value by rcgyuk

I'd write a custom function. Something like =firstmonthofrow(B1).

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA011117011033.aspx tells more.

Kees


Was this reply helpful? (0)   (0)

Staff pick

Reply
Report offensive post
Email to friend

re: Finding value

by rcgyuk - 3/25/10 4:38 AM

In Reply to: Re: finding value by Kees Bakker Moderator

Hi,

I understand how to create a custom function, I am stuck on the couple of lines of code in the middle.

What I want to do is start at the first cell in the row, and counts the cells across that are either blank or zero. The first cell found that is not blank or zero, return that number as the result of the function. So if there are 5 cells blank or zero, and the 6th contains a value, then the function would return the answer '6'

Once I have that number, I can use it in an OFFSET formula to get the value I want.


Was this reply helpful? (0)   (0)

Staff pick

Reply
Report offensive post
Email to friend

Re: looping through a row.

by Kees Bakker Moderator - 3/26/10 6:36 AM

In Reply to: re: Finding value by rcgyuk

The essential piece of code consists of a loop using the statement
activecell.offset(0,1).activate
This statement makes the cell on the same row, one column to the right, the active cell. Then see if it's filled.

The whole algoritm in pseudocode:
- select first cell of current row;
- make it active
- set counter to 0
- while cell is empty and there are more columns to do:
-- increment counter;
-- make next cell active
- if end of range reached
-- there's no sale at all
- else
-- the counter gives the column

Kees


Was this reply helpful? (0)   (0)

Staff pick

Reply
Report offensive post
Email to friend

More Discussions

Forum Icon Legend

  • UnreadUnread
  • ReadRead
  • Locked threadLocked thread
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  • ModeratorModerator
  • CNET StaffCNET Staff
  • Samsung StaffSamsung Staff
  • Norton Authorized Support TeamNorton Authorized Support Team
  • AVG StaffAVG Staff
  • avast! Staffavast! Staff
  • Webroot Support TeamWebroot Support Team
  • Acer Customer Experience TeamAcer Customer Experience Team
  • Windows Outreach TeamWindows Outreach Team
  • DISH staffDISH staff
  • Dell StaffDell Staff
  • Intel StaffIntel Staff
  • QuestionQuestion
  • Resolved questionResolved question
  • General discussionGeneral discussion
  • TipTip
  • Alert or warningAlert or warning
  • PraisePraise
  • RantRant

You are e-mailing the following post: Post Subject

Your e-mail address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the e-mail and in case of transmission error. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose.

Sorry, there was a problem emailing this post. Please try again.

Submit Email Cancel

Thank you. Sent email to

Close

Thank you. Sent email to

Close

You are reporting the following post: Post Subject

If you believe this post is offensive or violates the CNET Forums' Usage policies, you can report it below (this will not automatically remove the post). Once reported, our moderators will be notified and the post will be reviewed.

Offensive: Sexually explicit or offensive language

Spam: Advertisements or commercial links

Disruptive posting: Flaming or offending other users

Illegal activities: Promote cracked software, or other illegal content

Sorry, there was a problem submitting your post. Please try again.

Submit Report Cancel

Your message has been submitted and will be reviewed by our staff. Thank you for helping us maintain CNET's great community.

Close

Your message has been submitted and will be reviewed by our staff. Thank you for helping us maintain CNET's great community.

Close

You are posting a reply to: Post Subject

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. Please refer to the CNET Forums policies for details. All submitted content is subject to CBS Interactive Site Terms of Use.

You are currently tracking this discussion. Click here to manage your tracked discussions.

If you're asking for technical help, please be sure to include all your system info, including operating system, model number, and any other specifics related to the problem. Also please exercise your best judgment when posting in the forums--revealing personal information such as your e-mail address, telephone number, and address is not recommended.

Sorry, there was a problem submitting your post. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem generating the preview. Please try again.

Duplicate posts are not allowed in the forums. Please edit your post and submit again.

Submit Reply Preview Cancel

Thank you, , your post has been submitted.

> Click here to view your post. > Manage your tracked discussions. > Track this discussion. Close

Thank you, , your post has been submitted and will appear on our site shortly.

Close