Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!motcid!derosa
From: derosa@motcid.UUCP (John DeRosa)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Re: Excel and hidden columns--feature!!
Keywords: columns, note sequence of letters at the top :-}
Message-ID: <4629@manta.UUCP>
Date: 5 Mar 91 22:50:28 GMT
References: <2836@beguine.UUCP>
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Div., Arlington Heights, IL
Lines: 45

mikef@bbs.acs.unc.edu (Michael Freedburg) writes:

>1. The fact that the progam does not work as *you* expect it to
>is not sufficient evidence of poor design or even bugs. The fact
>that you, perhaps inadvertantly, used a feature with which you
>were not familiar, does not mean that the program is poorly
>designed. 

My intent when writting about my problem (note that I am
taking full credit for my mistake) was not to indicate
poor design or a bug.  I understand that my problem was 
an inadvertant use of a feature of Excel, in fact now that
I know about it, I have been using it.

My intent was to tell other users of a potential pitfall of
the many capabilities of Excel.  That, I think (IMHO), is
the intended purpose of news groups such as this.  I have
received several mailers stating, in so many words, "thanks,
I didn't know that, I wondered how I had screwed up".  Gives
me a warm feeling right here.

>2. On the matter of some indicator being required to show the
>user that he or she has set the column width to zero:
>When I use Excel I have "Show column/row headings" turned on.
>This shows me a sequence of letters!!
>Like A     B     C     D     E     F     G     H
>If I look at the top of the worksheet and it goes:
>     A     B     E     F     G     H     I     J
>then I assume that C-D are zero width. Is this perhaps the sign
>you seek? :-}

This is precisely how I spotted my problem.  Unfortunately,
this single missing row was buried in a spreadsheet of several
hundred rows, making it difficult to detect.  I wish life was
as simple as your example, errors would fall by the wayside.

>flame me all you want, I wear flame-retardent pj's

This was a very little flame.  You only needed flame
resistant.
-- 
=       John DeRosa, Motorola, Inc, Cellular Infrastructure Group          =
= e-mail:    ...uunet!motcid!derosaj, motcid!derosaj@uunet.uu.net          =
= Applelink: N1111                                                         =
=I do not hold by employer responsible for any information in this message =