When faced with the task of proofing a new workbook, the sheer volume of cells to be examined can be intimidating. RedRover Detect is designed to help you bring the candidate cells down to a focused, manageable number.
MANAGING HEURISTICS
The various heuristics that RedRover Detect uses to analyze your spreadsheet have been carefully chosen and analyzed. Nevertheless, on large spreadsheets there can be so many potential Errors, Warnings or Information Items identified that it can become a case of information overload. When too many possibilities are presented at once, it can be tempting to ignore them altogether.
When faced with a large number of potential errors, try turning off selected heuristics being used by Detect. This is done through the Options Button on the Detect Tool bar.
Focused Problem Solving
Looking at only one error type at a time can make your problem solving much more efficient. For example, a common Information Item found by RedRover Detect is “Formula Is Unreferenced.” This occurs any time a cell contains a formula, but is itself never picked up by any other formula in the spreadsheet. Of course, there are always some cells which are never picked up by another cell, nor should they be. The SUM of a column or row, or the proverbial “bottom line” are good examples.
But an unreferenced formula can also be a true error condition. An unreferenced cell in the middle or at the top of a column is more likely to be a true error than the bottom cell in the column (see picture below). By running a single heuristic, you know exactly why a given cell has been highlighted, and you may be able to proceed through the spreadsheet more quickly.
When you are finished with one heuristic, return to the Options, turn on the next heuristic you are interested in, and click on Rescan. For those among us who think “visually”, this can be an excellent approach to trouble shooting.
Format Issues
Sometimes Error Warnings or Information Items are generated by certain formats needed in the user’s environment. For example, the use of blank columns to achieve proper formatting for hard copy readers may result in a large number of “hits” under the category of “Referencing Blank Cells.” You might decide to turn off this heuristic while you concentrate on others.
Some accounting departments will insert a column containing a Dollar Sign ($) or other explanatory text or symbol on each row, rather than use Excel’s Currency or Accounting format. (This has the advantage of keeping all of the dollar signs in perfect alignment.) This is great for the eventual reader of the spreadsheet, but it can set off the warning in Detect as “Non-numeric Input”.
Posted by: Rick Clark, Customer Support, RedRover Software
