Validation?

[John]

Hi. I am doing a gradebook and I have a huge problem. My
school has 3 trimesters. I have about 40 tests for the
year, but I am looking for a way to sort the tests to
different worksheets based on what trimester it is.

This is how my gradebook looks- I have a master test
page, which contains every test (1-40) for the entire
year. That includes the scores for comprehension,
vocabulary, and spelling. It also contains a column
called "Trimester" in which I put a 1 for the ist
trimester, a 2 for the 2nd trimester, or a 3 for the 3rd
trimester. Then the next 3 pages are the 1st Trimester
worksheet, 2nd Trimester worksheet, and a 3rd Trimester
worksheet.

My question is how do I fix my test worksheet so that if
I put a "1" in the trimester column, it will
automatically transfer any test that has a "1" in the
trimester column to the 1st Trimeser worksheet along with
the grades for that test?

I heard something about using the validation option but I
don't know where to use it or how to work it. Is there
any way to do what I to do? Any help on this would be
greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Bernie Deitrick]

John,

My recommendation would be to NOT transfer your data from your master sheet to a sub-sheet. It makes error correction difficult,
and any changes that are made to one sheet may not properly follow through.

The best method, IMHO, is to enter your data only once, either in a single master database or in three separate databases. If you
use a single database, it is very easy to extract individual trimester data using filters or pivot tables.

Personally, I would go with one database, and use a pivot table with the trimester field as the page field to create my reports. Of
course, that could mean changing your data structure as well, to a true database style entry, where the data in each record (or row)
pertains to only one test.

HTH,
Bernie
Excel MVP