More tips on using Lotus products. (Good Ideas) (column)

MORE TIPS ON USING LOTUS PRODUCTS

1-2-3/SYMPHONY

TRUNCATING DECIMALS

I recently needed to truncate a decimal answer to nine decimal places, but did not want to round off the value.

1-2-3 and Symphony do not have a truncate function for decimals, but the @INT function will truncate a mixed number. I used the following formula to truncate the decimal to nine places: @INT((x/y)*1000000000)/1000000000

The formula multiplies the results of the x/y calculation by 1,000,000,000 (one billion), thereby moving the decimal point nine places to the right. The @INT function then returns only the integer portion of the number. Dividing the integer portion of the number by 1,000,000,000 moves the decimal point nine places to the left, resulting in a decimal truncated to nine places. The formula replaces the decimal places 10 through 15 with zeros.

You can use this formula to truncate a decimal value to any number of decimal places simply by changing the multiplication/division factor (one billion, in this example). Douglas Linton Long Beach, Calif.

ENTERING ALPHANUMERIC LABELS

Entering numeric labels can be bothersome because you must enter a label prefix before each one. For instance, if you enter an alphanumeric item code number that begins with a number (like 25A185) or a date label (like 12/31/87) and forget to precede it with a label prefix, an error will occur.

Preceding each numeric label entry with a space solves that problem. It forces the program to regard what follows as a label, and the Spacebar is easier to find than one of the label-prefix keys. The more entries you have to make, the more time you'll save with this method. Marlon Halpern South Orange, N.J.

Before using this technique with database entries, consider two things: You must use the technique consistently or your queries will not produce accurate results, and when you use a criterion to retrieve the entries, you must enter it with a space as well. As an alternative, if your alphanumeric entries are in a single column, try the following macro:

The apostrophe preceding the Pause command performs the same function as the space--it ensures the entry that follows will …