Help with Microsoft excel spreadsheets

Lifeisbutadream

I would be really grateful if someone could help me with this:

I have set up several spreadsheets in excel, where I can pick up an address using macro, from a list of customers within the same spreadsheet.

What I really want to be able to do is set up a central list of contacts, then pick them up from several different spreadsheets - basically so that I only have to update the contact list once - at the moment I have 7 spreadsheets and so have to update 7 times.

I am using Windows Vista, but all the spreadsheets were set up when I had excel 97-03.

Thanks in anticipation...:o

Chippy_Minton

You can do this with the VLOOKUP worksheet function.

Create Contact List.xls containing your customer names (column A) and addresses (column . In this workbook, create a named range called Contacts for the names and addresses. Keep Contact List.xls open for now.

In one of your other workbooks, suppose A1 contains the customer name. Enter the following formula in B1 to get their address:

=VLOOKUP(A1,'Contact List.xls'!Contacts,2,FALSE)

Lifeisbutadream

I cant get this to work - I must be doing something wrong. Does this mean that I will have to type in the name? I could do with a drop down list, as have around 300 names and would need to get an exact spelling or how it is set up - (i.e. sometimes I have Mr & Mrs Townend, sometimes Mr B Townend etc.)

Thanks in anticipation.

Lifeisbutadream

Bump :o:o

scottishlass

Ummm are you after something like this http://techonthenet.com/excel/macros/combo_update.php

Lifeisbutadream

Yes - thanks - that it what I have now, but I have several spreahdsheets on the go and need to update the customer information in each one, rather than having a separate 'customer list' and being able to pick up from it when I need to put a customer address in.

If you know what I mean..

scottishlass

Yep sorry only quickly glanced at the problem

espresso

Lifeisbutadream wrote: »

I cant get this to work - I must be doing something wrong. Does this mean that I will have to type in the name? I could do with a drop down list, as have around 300 names and would need to get an exact spelling or how it is set up - (i.e. sometimes I have Mr & Mrs Townend, sometimes Mr B Townend etc.)

Thanks in anticipation.

Copy & paste your 300 names.

Lifeisbutadream

espresso wrote: »

Copy & paste your 300 names.

I have been doing that, but my name list is growing daily.

For example I have a visiting sheet, a quoting sheet and an invoice sheet. Each one may be updated 3 or 4 times in a day, so I would have to copy and paste 3 or 4 times in each sheet every time, plus the other sheets that I needed, I would also have to keep note of which one I had updated with a new name, unless I copied each update to the other 6 sheets every time I do an update.

I can carry on as it is, but I would have thought there must be a way of doing it.. surely Microsoft is cleverer than me?

espresso

Lifeisbutadream wrote: »

I have been doing that, but my name list is growing daily.

For example I have a visiting sheet, a quoting sheet and an invoice sheet. Each one may be updated 3 or 4 times in a day, so I would have to copy and paste 3 or 4 times in each sheet every time, plus the other sheets that I needed, I would also have to keep note of which one I had updated with a new name, unless I copied each update to the other 6 sheets every time I do an update.

I can carry on as it is, but I would have thought there must be a way of doing it.. surely Microsoft is cleverer than me?

You misunderstand.

Copy your present list into a new sheet Contact List.xls and then you would only then have to update one worksheet.

scottishlass

If you had a central contacts list would you then just want to select the customer from a drop down list on a particular spread sheet?