hi dave,

you are right, using transpose does get my data into the layout (into rows
in a column). this, however, is only a usable solution if you are not dealing
with many line items. being a manual process you describe, i would have to do
this many times. i want something a bit more automated (or button triggered).
then i still have to find duplicates (which i guess is a second problem).

check out the "List Every Item Only Once in a List Box" items he
http://fcfhsp.customer.netspace.net.au/xlhome.htm

this gives you a bit of an idea of what i am after post parsing.

thanks,
d