If your question isn’t on here, comment on the page, and I’ll add it to the list and answer it.
I’ve got the spreadsheet, why would I need to buy the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die book?
Because it’s
The Right Thing To Do, that’s why. Hey, if the list has energised your literary life, why not thank the people who made it? The book is fascinating, cram full of synopses and and images that increase our understanding of the importance of each of the books to the history of literature. It’s a great conversation starter… or, if you’re a misanthrope, it makes a great toilet book. At least get someone to get it for your birthday or Christmas or something… but do get it! To order it, follow these links:
Bug Being Fixed: Why don’t titles and authors names for books over 1000 appear in my dropdowns?
This is an issue with the limitations of Excel 2003. Apparently, it can only filter up to 1000 values. I’m developing a workaround for this with Linda who spotted the issue and I should be able to integrate it into future downloads shortly.
If you’re using Excel 2003 and want to filter columns, send your spreadsheet to me: arukyomi AT johnandsheena.co.uk I’ll fix up a workaround for you and return it to you pronto 
New Feature: Do you have an affiliate program so that I can refer people to your spreadsheet and earn something?
Issue Solved: Above book #999 in my lists, my four digit numbers show as #### I can’t make the column wider so they can display properly because the spreadsheet is protected. What should I do?
This might be caused by using a higher DPI setting on your monitor than normal. It doesn’t really matter if you don’t know what this is. If you have this problem, you’re one of a very few select people! I can fix this for you if you email me your spreadsheet at arukiyomi AT johnandsheena.co.uk.
Bug Fixed: Why are some of my authors names wrong and surnames of foreign authors not written correctly?
Thanks to Sandra for letting me know that some names of Authors were wrong. Did you know that the author of Dr Zhivago was John Pasternak? Hmmm… neither did I! I’ve tried sorting out as many of these as I could find. You’ll find that hyperlinks for these erroneous entries won’t work properly.
Also, at Sandra’s suggestion, I’ve changed surnames for authors like Marquis de Sade from de Sade to Sade as per library catalogues. This will help you search better. Note that not every “de” name follows this format. Again, I’ve tried to sort as many as I could find. I may have missed some. Full version downloads from 26 April 2010 and Developer version downloads from 19 June 2010 will have these fixes in them. If you downloaded before that and want a fixed copy, email me (arukiyomi AT johnandsheena.co.uk) your current copy and I’ll fix it for you.
Bug Fixed: I returned from Paypal after donating/buying, but where’s my download link?
Well now you should be getting an email with your download link in it even if there isn’t one on the Thanks page on my blog when you return from PayPal. I had an issue with very strict protocols that my hosts required for WordPress to send out emails. I’ve sorted that out now and a donor recently confirmed that he received an email when he donated. At last! But if you didn’t get an email with a download link, please contact me: arukiyomi AT johnandsheena.co.uk
Bug Fixed: Why doesn’t my life expectancy actually look like my location life expectancy?
This affects the
Full and
Developer version Stats page and only affects you if you choose a nationality above Belgium in the alphabet. Because of two blank cells in the middle of the life expectancy data columns, choosing a country higher than Belgium will actualy give you the life expectancy for the country alphabetically above yours. One exception: people who choose the UK as, coincidentally, the country that is alphabetically above them (the UAE) has virtually the same life expectancies so they’re unaffected!
Thanks to Carys in Bristol for this one!
Bug Fixed: Why can’t I search the All_3 sheet in the Full version?
Ah… you must have downloaded an early release of the Full version. That was a bug that I fixed on the 31st of March. If you have a copy of the Full version and searching the All_3 list finds nothing, email me your Paypal donation receipt and I’ll send you a fixed version. Thanks to Liz in Las Vegas for finding this and letting me know!
If I search for a book I know is on the list, why do my search results bring back nothing?
If have the
Full version and you try to search any other worksheet apart from the All 3 one, your search results will return nothing. This is because only the All 3 worksheet is unprotected. If a worksheet is protected, you cannot search it. This means that if you have the
Full version, you’ll only be able to search the All 3 sheet and enter data there. Data entered there though will be copied automatically everywhere else the book appears in the spreadsheet.
If you have the Developer version, you can perform a more detailed search. This is pretty easy to do. Just follow these steps:
- open up the search box by pressing CTRL+F
- enter your search term but do not press enter
- click Options
- Change the Within dropdown to Workbook.
- click Find All
I’ve given a donation for the Full version and I want to upgrade to the Developer version. Do I have to pay the full amount?
No you don’t. I’m happy to discount the Developer version for you by whatever you donated for the Full version. All you have to do to upgrade is to pay the difference. Once you do, I’ll send you a copy of the Developer version.
Why can’t I sort and filter my All_3 sheet in the Full version?
You’re probably using a Mac. Macs won’t allow sorting and filtering on a protected spreadsheet. The only way that you can enable sorting and filtering is by upgrading to the Developer edition. If you’ve already made a donation for the Full version, I’d be happy to discount the Developer edition for you to take this into account.
Can I pay by echeque?
You can but you won’t get a download link. You’ll also have to wait until the funds clear to my Paypal account before I can send you the spreadsheet. I’ll see this flagged in my account and Paypal will notify me when they clear. At that point, I should send you the download. If I don’t, please do get in touch and prod me…
I donated without using the shopping cart and used the Donate button/Spreadsheet Lurve! page instead. Where’s my download link?
Yes, you can donate any amount you want in one of three currencies via the Donate button on the front page or the
Spreadsheet Lurve! page but if you do that a download link won’t automatically be generated. I set those links up for people using the previous versions to show their appreciation. No one actually used it as it happens but there you go… So, if you do use that instead of the shopping cart for some reason, email me and I’ll check through the Paypal receipts and send you the download if I’ve got your receipt.
What’s the difference between the Lite and Full versions of the spreadsheet?
Wow… where do I start?
Lite is, well… basic to put it midly.
Full is, well… full
See the table detailing the differences
here.
I’ve been using v3.3 and have loads of books already entered in that version. Do I really have to enter them all in again?
Nope. Arukiyomi’s got that covered for you. v4 allows you to import your data from v3.3 in just a few clicks and scrolls of the mouse. Instructions in screencast 3 on
this page.
I’ve entered data but nothing seems to change. Why is this?
Sometimes, you need to save the file. Once you do, totals will update. That’s presuming you have unzipped it, right? It comes as a zipped file, you’ll need to right click on the zip file to extract it to somewhere on your computer. Once you do that, open the xls file and you should be good to go.
What’s the password for unprotecting pages?
If you’re seeing passwords that’s because you have the
Full or
Lite versions. Passwords are not available for these. You might want a copy of the
Developer version. This gives you access to a completely unprotected version you can play with and customise to your heart’s desire. See the
download page for details.
I’ve sorted the All 3 sheet and now everything’s messed up. How do I sort this out?
That sucks doesn’t it? I feel for you. I’ve done this myself more than once. Backing up your original file will prevent this happening in the future. You have a couple of options:
- Sort the numbers column from A-Z smallest to largest. This should place everything back in the order you want.
- If this doesn’t work, contact me via the email in Help with a note saying what’s happened and I’ll send you a new spreadsheet.
What’s the difference between sorting and filtering?
None. They can both screw up your spreadsheet.
No, seriously now…
Sorting orders things from small to large or A to Z and vice versa. Filtering selects one value or a range of values and allows you to filter out only those. You can clear filters by clicking on the little dropdown buttons at the top of each column and selecting Clear Filter. The only way to undo sorts is to use the undo feature. The easiest way to do this is just to hit CTRL+Z.
I made a donation and downloaded the Full version but it doesn’t work on my system. Can I get a refund?
In a word, no. As the small print
here explains, it’s your responsibility to make sure you have the right software and operating system for the spreadsheet (i.e. Excel 2003 or later for Windows) before you download it. Don’t be downhearted though. Make the most of it: it’s the perfect excuse to go out and buy Excel 2010
I want to upgrade from Full to Developer versions. How do I do that?
You just need to pay the difference between your original donation and the £20 the
Developer costs. To do that, visit the
Spreadsheet Lurve page and use the donation button there. When I get your receipt, I’ll send you the
Developer version by email.
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Hi, I tried to copy the column from v 3.3. into cell h5, but this is protected with a password. How do I get around that?
Comment by jon — May 21, 2010 @ 2:43 am Quote this comment
On 21 May 10, jon wrote:
Cells H5 to H290 are not protected by a password but other cells are. My guess is that you are copying something more than the 285 cells in that range and it is refusing to let you do that. If you re-try it and it still won’t work, please send me your v3.3 and v4 spreadsheets and I’ll fix this for you and let you know what the problem was if I can.
Comment by Arukiyomi — May 21, 2010 @ 3:43 am Quote this comment
Tried to download using Excell, but message says it is not compatible. Excell is the only spreadsheet program I have. What program was it written in? Do I need to buy that program>
GC
Comment by Gerald Camp — July 6, 2010 @ 4:34 am Quote this comment
Hi Gerald,
thanks for the comment. Sorry to hear you’re having trouble with it.
It’s an excel spreadsheet but when you download it, it’s a zip file with the spreadsheet and a readme.txt file as well with some basic instructions. I’ve compressed it as a zip file to make the download as small as possible. If you try to open the zip file in Excel it will just tell you it can’t do that. You’ll need to unzip it first and then open the .xls file in Excel.
To unzip the file, simply double click on the zip file (in windows) and it will open a folder with your excel file in it. Then you can double click the excel file to open it. Once you have it open, first thing I recommend doing is saving two copies of it, one as a backup and then the one that you want to enter your data in.
Let me know if that helps solve your problem, and thanks for your donation.
Comment by Arukiyomi — July 6, 2010 @ 6:57 am Quote this comment
Hi Arukiyomi,
Thanks for your work on the spreadsheet! I just donated & obtained the Full version, however I’m having trouble searching the list. I can search just on the “All 3″ tab, however if I want to find a book in the 2010 tab for example, it doesn’t bring up anything although I can see the book on there. I’m using Excel 2007 by the way…I’ve tried it on all the other tabs as well, searching only works in the “All 3″ spreadsheet apparently. Help?
Comment by Cammie — July 27, 2010 @ 9:11 pm Quote this comment
Hi Cammie,
thanks for your donation. Firstly, as you have the Fullversion only, you’ll only be able to search the All 3 tab. This is mentioned in the FAQs. Only with the Developer version do you have the ability to search all the worksheets in the spreadsheet because only in that version are all the worksheets unprotected. The way the Full version is designed though, you only need to find the book in the All 3 tab and enter your data in there (rating and tbr/r/w). The spreadsheet will automatically put the data you enter into the 2010 list for you.
Comment by Arukiyomi — July 27, 2010 @ 9:28 pm Quote this comment
Hi Arukiyomi
Found your site via recommendation in a talk group in LibraryThing.
Just downloaded v4 (Full). Looks fab and can’t wait to try it out.
Quick question: v4 appears to be Excel 97-2003. Is it available in Excel 2007?
thank you
Comment by Marie — August 23, 2010 @ 10:29 am Quote this comment
On 23 Aug 10, Marie wrote:
Hi Marie… the spreadsheet is compatible with both versions of Excel so you wouldn’t notice a difference.
Comment by Arukiyomi — August 25, 2010 @ 7:51 am Quote this comment