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Managing learning materials: How to use an inventory spreadsheet
- Have the person that wishes to check out items identify the item appropriately, usually by “”title” (“Main and subt[itle]”or “alternate title”).
- You can locate items in various ways:
- either by full text search (menu “Edit” / “Find” or shortcut CTRL+F)
- Select the columns ((ctrl-)click on column headers (=
) or ctrl-space while the cursor is in the column) in which want to search (= restrict the search to these columns)
- use the wildcard “?” to match any single character – useful for misspelled accented characters
- Example: you are looking for the movie “Amélie”, and cannot find it; try searching for “Am?lie” instead
- Then fix the misspelled title (on how to enter accented characters see 5.1)
- Example: you are looking for the movie “Amélie”, and cannot find it; try searching for “Am?lie” instead
- Use the wildcard “*” (star) to match any (0 to many) characters – useful e.g. for ignoring over multiple spaces
- Use “Find all” to make sure you have all relevant entries – double click on the result to jump to that row
- Select the columns ((ctrl-)click on column headers (=
- or by filtering, using the dropdowns (arrows in column headers)
- You can
- Select an option from the dropdown to only display rows that match this condition
- Note: In the dropdown, unlike in the spreadsheet itself, options are automatically sorted alphabetically
- Select “Custom” from the dropdown to create more advanced queries
- Use “contains” to search for a substring (example: you are looking for the “Terminator”, but do not remember, whether the exact title “The Terminator” or “Terrminator”)
- Select “All” from the dropdown to stop filtering or press the button “Remove Filtering”
- Filter on more than 1 column by selecting options in multiple dropdowns
- Select an option from the dropdown to only display rows that match this condition
- The blue color (in row headers and dropdown arrows) indicates that these results are filtered.
- You can
- or by sorting, using the button “Sort on active column” (click on a field in the column you want to sort on, then click the button),
- To sort by multiple columns, sort in descending order of importance.
- Example: you want to go alphabetically through the titles of the French Videotapes.
- click on a field in the column “main & sub”, click “sort”,
- then click on a field in the column “Media type”, click “sort”,
- then click on a field in the column in “Language” and click “sort”.
- Then scroll to “French” in “language”, within the “French” items, scroll to “Tape:Video”, now you can browse the French videotape titles in alphabetical order.
- Example: you want to go alphabetically through the titles of the French Videotapes.
- To sort by multiple columns, sort in descending order of importance.
- Note: if the spreadsheet becomes slow or unresponsive, try one of the following:
- remove filtering, especially on two or more columns. Sorting is faster than filtering
- Ctrl-alt-delete, “task manager”, end application and start over; the spreadsheet has been programmed to remove the filter on restart
- either by full text search (menu “Edit” / “Find” or shortcut CTRL+F)
- When to do what:
- When should you use regular find?
- Whenever possible. That means: If you look for an item which has a findable substring from a single database-field
- Example: Video with the word “Wunder” in the title
- Whenever possible. That means: If you look for an item which has a findable substring from a single database-field
- When should you use the dropdowns?
- If you look for an item that does not have a findable substring from a single database-field
- Example: You are looking for a movie with the title,main&sub=”El”
- Example: You are looking for a specific issue of a periodical title,main&sub=“Schauinsland”, field:volume = 1, field:issue=18 (means: you need to search on multiple fields)
- If you want to browse multiple items
- Example: You need to get an overview what parts of the language program “Deutsch, na klar” we have (there are the main textbook, several workbooks, instructor handbooks, cds, dvds, … etc.)
- If you look for an item that does not have a findable substring from a single database-field
- When should you sort?
- If you expect a dropdown search to get too slow.
- When should you use regular find?
- Locate items in the Media Cabinet by label number
- record checkin and checkout of items in the (violet) section “Location & Loanee”, appropriate column for loanee and date:
- instructor: instructors can check out materials for use within and outside of the lab; record instructor name and date
- students can check out materials for use within the lab only; record the student id number
- when an item is returned, reset the name and date column to blank
- Editing:
- You have been given the editor password (complain if not). This password does not completely unlock the spreadsheet.
- Hiding Columns
- For specific tasks, you can hide certain columns to fit the columns you are working with on the screen. You need to get the advanced password for doing that.
- For specific tasks, you can hide certain columns to fit the columns you are working with on the screen. You need to get the advanced password for doing that.
Categories: e-learning, learning-materials
asset-management, MS-Excel
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