Leaves are Falling

A week ago, I noticed that the leaves on all the trees in our community had changed. They were beautiful, with bright red, burnt-orange, and spectacular yellow-gold colors. Then, a few days ago, we had a cold snap that was heralded by strong winds blowing through the area. It didn't take much of that wind to start picking the leaves from those trees.

Now the leaves are falling in earnest. They crunch under foot as I walk through the town. There is no doubt that fall has arrived in our area. I suspect, based on historical precedent, that we will have our first snowfall in about 3 weeks. And then it is all downhill from there! ;-)

I do love watching the changing seasons. Each brings its own distinct type of beauty, and I marvel at the world in which we live. I trust you will have time (or make time) to enjoy the seasons in your corner of the world.

I hope you enjoy the tips I've put in this week's newsletter.

—Allen
     

ExcelTips (ribbon) for 11 October 2025
Workbooks
Bothersome 'File has Changed' Message

Excel is always monitoring how you use a workbook and can notify you if it detects a potential problem. One such message may tell you that others have possibly changed your file. If you get such a message in error, the ideas in this tip can help you track down the cause.

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(Thanks to Ryszard Raciborski and Michael Avidan (MVP) for contributing to this tip.)

 
Formulas
Summing Only the Largest Portion of a Range

Given a range of cells, you may at some time want to calculate the sum of only the largest values in that range. Here is an examination of various ways you can get the sum you need.

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(Thanks to James Woolley and Thomas Papavasiliou for contributing to this tip.)

 
Lookup Exactly the Data You Want

Excel's lookup functions are easily the most powerful worksheet functions you can use. Master these seven functions you'll never again view a worksheet full of data in the same way. The power these functions provide you is anything but small. Take your first step today!

 
Worksheets
Freezing Worksheet Tabs

If you have a lot of worksheets in a workbook, you may wonder if you can "freeze" the position of some of those worksheet tabs. Here are some different ways to tackle the problem.

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(Thanks to Dariusz Wrobel for contributing to this tip.)

 
Protecting worksheets
Locking Worksheet Names

Want to stop other people from changing the names of your worksheets? You can provide the desired safeguard by using the workbook protection features built into Excel.

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Help Wanted

This section is for those having problems making Excel behave. If Excel is giving you fits, feel free to submit your own Help Wanted question.

If you have a solution for the problems below, click the link after the problem to send us your answer. (All responses become the sole property of Sharon Parq Associates, Inc., and can be used in any way deemed appropriate.) If your response is used in a future issue, you will be credited for your contribution to the answer.

 
Selecting Ten Random Numbers

I need a way to select 10 whole numbers from a pool of 150 potential numbers. For instance, if the pool contains the sequential whole numbers of 201 through 350, I need to select 10 numbers from that pool, at random.
—Fawn Martinez (provide an answer for this Help Wanted question)

 
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