Answers to your questions about Lotus products. (Q and A)

ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT LOTUS PRODUCTS

CONTEST APRIL CONTEST RESULTS

In the April issue we asked users of 1-2-3 Releases 2 and 2.01 and Symphony to devise the best way to set up the list of names in a column as shown below and sort the list alphabetically by last name. Notice that the names are arranged first name first, then middle initial (or middle name) and last name.

Several entries used a looping macro to analyze each name. Within the loop, a formula extracts the last name, and a *FOR* statement is used to perform the loop. After extracting the last name to column B, the macro uses the Range Value command (Range Values in Symphony) to change the formulas in column B to their calculated labels (formulas cannot be sorted). Then the macro sorts column B alphabetically. Although this macro works, it was not the most elegant or efficient solution submitted.

Some entries used the Data Parse command (Range Parse in Symphony) to extract the last name. A macro parses each name, the delineating character being a space. In this manner, the last name is parsed into a cell by itself and then sorted. This method also works but, again, wasn't the best solution.

Many entries used a formula to locate the first space within the name and extract the characters to the right of that space. These formulas did not …