PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums Band-in-a-Box for Windows Copy List function question

Well, Microsoft seems to have the goal to render used time to enhance your work flow as wasted time with the next version.

Up to XP you could enter properties in files for many non-Microsoft file types and use those with the Windows Explorer search function. Many of these are no more accessible in this way since Vista. Maybe Vista was named as a shortened "Hasta la vista!".

Many functions in Excel or Access were wiped out in the course of new versions. Many databases and spreadsheets have to be re-developed because used functions are not available in the new versions.

But what do I do in a case like the one you describe above (using MS products)?

I do use Word as a receiver of the intial table.
1. Select the appropriate paper size (often you need to make it a large one).
2. Select the appropriate format (under Layout) to be landscape or portrait to fit the table in its entire width into one line.
3. Paste the data.
4. Convert text to table
5. Add a column on the far left side of the table
6. Reconvert table to text using "Tab" as a delimiter.
7. Then I can global change contents using the search string ^tmy-text-to-be-changed^t and the replace string ^tmy-changed-text^t.

Are there elements in the table in another column that might be changed but shouldn't?
Select the column you want to have the data reformatted and copy it into a new document.
Follow with step 6.
If it is a single column in the above strings the ^t should be replaced by ^p.

This is an easy way to globally adjust the data to Excel's needs. This process is like a pulley -- you need to pull more rope but weights appear to be lighter to you.
(It shouldn't be necessary, but...). After you've done that three or four times you will speed up the process.
Excel doesn't like several glyphs as the first symbol in a cell, e.g. "=", "-", ".", and some others. Excel always tries to convert calendar date like number formats into a calender date format (yy/mm or mm/dd or similar); 4/4 will be April 4th. Excel doesn't like musicians' time signatures.

Another program you could use is Access if you have it. Access treats these data different than Excel. (You could use Access as a spreadsheet and not as a database using just a single table. In this case you just need to get familiar with the process and you do not have to learn "database". But you could if you want to.)