Meir, thanks. I'll give it a try but I think the Excel add-in acts more like a filter and CONVERT_ADD more like
a specific operation. Well, there's always using Excel (sigh).

Thanks for the comments guys :) I haven't had a chance to look at any of the other entries... but I must say... I'm blown away by the number of entries?!?! Wow! I thought there'd only be a handful of entires. Looking forward to checking them all out.

Just a couple of things...

1. I did include my gear... just as sample content. Nice to have some actual weights to play with to see how the sheet works. I figured it's easy enough to overwrite my gear... delete rows... add rows... etc.

2. I did NOT test my sheet in NeoOffice. It's only guaranteed to work in Excel. As I recall... there were one or two errors in NeoOffice. I was originally trying to install Open Office and unless you're some kind of UNIX geek it seems pretty daunting... so I gave up :) By the time I heard about and downloaded NeoOffice... the deadline was a day away... so I didn't have time to test it. If I win any of the three prizes... I'd be happy to try and fix and NeoOffice bugs.

3. Carol... the shared idea is neat. But someone still had to carry it right? So it has to be added to either your pack or your partners? I guess the solution would be to double up my columns (so like two lists side by side) and add a "Shared" total? The shared total would still count to your pack weight... but you would know what's shared and what's not. You could use an "S" much like I use a "P" for pack and a "W" for wear/consume.

BTW... I like the "database" like approach as well... but it was just a little too much work for me I think... plus I wanted a sheet that was super simple to modify. That was one of my main goals. It works fine for someone like me who's fairly new to backpacking and doesn't have a room full of gear :) I don't really need an "inventory" system.

Dave

Edited by davidlewis on 12/17/2005 10:56:59 MST.

Kevin, I added in the subtotals for ounces/grams in an updated spreadsheet that is a bit better than my contest submission. Is that what units you wanted for it? As for the lbs-oz thing, that would need a more complicated (for my abilities) formula that would take a while for me to figure out. Others might hack it out in no time. Email me at rhd101 at aol dot com for that file. Maybe we need to make another thread for comments on updated files not included in the contest?

>>Maybe we need to make another thread for comments on updated files not included in the contest?

And add a user support hotline.... ;-)>
Thanks, John, will do.
K.

Edited by kdesign on 12/17/2005 18:49:26 MST.

David Johnston, Your spreadsheet looks great. One this I noticed is that you use a complex formula to convert from grams to ounces, etc. Check out mine I used the CONVERT function, so much easier. I think your will be the winner. Great job.

Marc Valley

Marc:

Thanks for your nice comments. I appreciate your feedback. Ironically, I used the CONVERT function in my previous version, and then decided to take it out for the version I submitted to the contest. I was tired of having to make sure that the right Toolpack was loaded, and explaining how to load it to other people who were less familiar with add-ins. And you are right, the formula in those cells is complex, but the conversion is only part of it. Most of the overhead in those cells has to do with deciding whether grams or ounces is in effect for the entry weight. And I don't think (but I could be wrong) that CONVERT has a means of displaying either decimal pounds or lb/oz. So, even though it took more programming initially, I'm now pleased that I took out CONVERT -- it opened up some other possiblities.

(PS. If you want to see some complex cells, look at the Print page. I'm not very good with pivot tables, so I used the brute force method of compiling the report for printing. Not very elegant, but it works!)

The love child of Dave Johnston and Meir Gottlieb's spreadsheets would share the best aspects of both----Mier's Gear Closet (love the built-in gear library), Pantry, and Menu(Nutritional info!) organization (and some clever data entry aspects)-----Dave's aesthetic presentation, separate sheets for each intelligently chosen category, and separate summary and print sheets.
I only wish they would work easily in NeoOffice.

For "just the facts, mamn" gearlist purposes, it's hard to beat John Shannon's. Simple, easy to use, and it works great in NeoOffice (for we Mac using, allergic to Microsoft types) .

Edited by kdesign on 12/20/2005 15:07:43 MST.

Love child! I'd like to see that!

I agree; Meir's Gear Closet, coupled with the drop down combo boxes to choose gear for each row is a great idea. Wish I'd thought of that. I have a separate spreadsheet, still under development, where I enter data on all the foods I use and use that to build a trip menu, complete with daily weights, calories, averages etc. Someday when I finish that it would be a great idea to incorporate that into the gearlist. It looks like Meir already has that nailed.

Ken! Why does a duplicate of my latest message get posted every time I visit this page?

Dave

A bug on the Print page of my spreadsheets has been pointed out and I have now fixed it. The bug made the 10th item of any group appear in Bold Italic, which should be reserved for group subheads. I tracked that down and fixed it. There is still a limit 20 items under each group subhead that can show up in the printed report.

If anyone would like a copy of the corrected version of the spreadsheet, I'd be happy to email it. Send me a message at dsjohnston 'at' cox.net.

Dave

I knew I wasn't using the full capabilities of Excel, but yikes! Looking at the entries, I'm a babe in the Excel woods! I'm glad I didn't bother to submit anything. I'm a big fan of pull-down items, so I like that in Meir Gottlieb's entry... and what great food data! I've never gotten more sophisticated with food than how much weight of it to bring, but if I ever get more interested, this is a great springboard! I love Dave Johnston's spreadsheet, and so far that would be the one I would most likely adopt and tweak. I forget which one, but the one with the graphs was intruiging, especially the analysis of where gear was packed based on when you needed to access it...
Nicely done, everyone who submitted! There isn't a single entry that doesn't have something in it I like better than my own gear list.

Hi. I am really impressed with some of the spreadsheets in the contest. I was wondering if people are actually using the downloaded files. I especially like Kim Clements' work and would like to use it for my own gear planning, however, I think I should try to ask for her permission or get an okay from BPL first? Does anyone have a suggestions?

Thanks.

I'm really glad for the spreadsheets, too. Lots of great ideas there. Jeff, if they're useful, of course you should use them. The corresponding rule is that if you come up with good modifications, let us know!
-Mark

Jeff,
Everyone who entered the spreadsheet contest did so with the understanding that their work would be shared in the public domain. They are posted in downloadable formats to make them easier to access. Feel free.

Thanks Mark and Vick for your help. It's nice knowing that the BPL police won't be knocking on my door. These spreadsheets are great tools and I appreciate the opportunity to use them. Thanks again. Regards, Jeff

Jeff,
If I may plug my own favorite, take a look at the one Josh Mitchell and I posted. It isn't a spreadsheet, but a tool for making decisions about which gear will meet your needs, based on your own experience. It's pretty slick.

I remember 1/15/06, but the memory isn't what it used to be.

Hi Vick, Thanks for the heads up on your spreadsheet. I'm going to check out. Jeff

And the winner is.......drumroll...........
.......Who?

Who won?

Has there been a winner?

Thanks
Dan