expense reports

[mpholic]

I have an Excel spreadsheet that I created that when printed looks just like our paper expense reports. The Excel spreadsheet has considerable formatting to make it appear like our paper document. When I transfer the template to my 1940 it loses considerable amounts of the formatting. I input the data (money spent) to the 1940 and it does all the calculations properly, but when I sync with my laptop the resulting excel is a copy of the 1940 file (all formatting is lost).

Is there some way to only transfer the data from 1940 to PC. I realize pocket Excel cannot support a lot of format data but I don't understand why it alters the format of the PC file, why not just transfer the data (information in each cell) without altering anything else?

Is there some way to transfer data using xml (or anything else) and then add macros to the pc spreadsheet to distribute the data to the proper cells?

Thanks

[AnswerDude]

Will it work if you have 2 spreadsheets instead? One for the ipaq is without format, just data and another one on your desktop with all the format. On the desktop spreadsheet inputs the formula to reference the ipaq spreadsheet corresponding cells.

The form of an external reference to Excel is
'<filename>'!<reference>

For example =[Ipaq_report.xls]Sheet1!$A$2
or ='C:\DATA\[Ipaq_report.XLS]Sheet1'!$A$2

Then you only sync the ipaq spreadsheet normally.

[Umberto]

Hello Answer Dude.
Thank you for your help in another thread.
You seem like a knowledgable fellow. Can you "dumb your answer down" here for us mere mortals?
Like the original poster, I plan on using my iPAQ for spreadsheets with lots of formatting.
I'm not at ease enough with the concept you're explaining to get it right away. A little more detail is all I need.
Ciao,
Umberto

[AnswerDude]

Originally posted by Umberto
Hello Answer Dude.
Thank you for your help in another thread.
You seem like a knowledgable fellow. Can you "dumb your answer down" here for us mere mortals?
Like the original poster, I plan on using my iPAQ for spreadsheets with lots of formatting.
I'm not at ease enough with the concept you're explaining to get it right away. A little more detail is all I need.
Ciao,
Umberto

The key thing here is that excel can refer to any cell not only from it's own worksheet, but in other workbook as well. You already know that when you put =A1 in any cell and you will have the value of cell A1. Now imagine that cell A1 is not in the same worksheet but in a completly different workbook located anywhere on your computer. Same method applies using the formula mentioned above.

So you just split your spreadsheet into 2 seperate workbooks;
1 for ipaq, no format, no formula, put this spreadsheet on the ipaq, input data and sync this spreadsheet.
The other spreadsheet contains full format, stays on the desktop, wherever you want to input the data just put formula that refer to the ipaq spreadsheet instead.

[Umberto]

Molto bene, thank you!
You're a gentleman and a scholar.