Thanks for all your help!

Dave was able to put together exactly what I was looking for. One major
headache solved!


"JLatham" <HelpFrom @ Jlathamsite.com.(removethis) wrote in message
...
I'm not certain this is what you want, or will work for you or not, but
I'll
give it a shot.

Start a calendar manually - make manual entries until you have a 4-day
work
period that has a DOR above and below it.

Next, in the cell that would be the DOR at the end of that 4 day period -
and for this example we will say you have this in column C:
A B C
1 DAY DATE S1
2 SUN 7/1/07 M
3 MON 7/2/07 DOR
4 TUE 7/3/07 DOR
5 WED 7/4/07 M
6 THUR 7/5/07 M
7 FRI 7/6/07 M
8 SAT 7/7/07 M
9 SUN 7/8/07

So, in C9 put this formula:
=IF(COUNTIF(C4:C8,"M")=4,"DOR","M")

It should display DOR, and as you extend it down the sheet, it should show
2
DOR's 4 M's, 2 DOR's, 4 Ms, continuing as far as you care to extend it.

Repeat for each of the other groups in columns C:Q?

Note how the formula works: the formula above is in row 9, column C, so we
keep referring to that column, but the first row number (C4) is formula
row-5, and the second part (C8) is formula row -1. That's how you need to
set up the various formulas across the sheet. Part of the key is doing
the
manual entry at the beginning until you get a 4-M group with a DOR above
and
below it.

Hope this helps some - or maybe I've just misunderstood the whole thing.


"Michael Slater" wrote:

You know....I thought about that after I posted the message.

The way the schedule looks now (and I don't know if it helps) is like
this:

Col: A = Day of the week
Col: B = Date
Col: C thru Q = MID Shift Dispatcher Initials (arranged by "line" / C-G =
Line #1, Etc)
Col: R = Total # of Dispatchers working that shift

Under each Dispatcher's initials is simply the letter "M" (for MID shift)
if
they are working that date, or, the letters "DOR" (Day Off Regular), if
they
are on a day off.

Example: Col: C-G (all Line #1), going down, row 2&3 (which corresponds
to
Sunday & Monday) would have "DOR" under each set of initials. Rows
4,5,6,7
(corresponding to Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday) would show the
letter "M" (indicating they are working those days. Then row 8&9
(Saturday
and Sunday) would indicate "DOR", etc., continuing down utilizing a 4 day
on
and 2 day off schedule.

I have a worksheet for each shift set up exactly the same way,
substituting
the letters "D" for DAY shift and "E" for EVE shift.

The sad part is, our department has been utilizing this same format for
more
than the 24 years I've been there (up until 3 years ago, the schedule was
done by hand on photocopied sheets). I have another 19 years to go until
I
can retire with full benefits. I thought I could make my life a little
easier ;)



"Dave Thomas" wrote in message
...
I'm sure it's possible. It may be possible to make a master template
for
use each year. But I'd have to see what the spread sheet looks like for
3-4 weeks to have an example.

"Michael Slater" wrote in message
. ..
I'm new to using Excel, but I was wondering if anyone knows if it is
possible to create (or "automate" might be a better word) the
following
type of work schedule:

I'm only looking for a "YES" it's possible, or "NO" it isn't. If I
know
that it is, I can figure it out myself.....I think.

I do the scheduling for a public safety dispatch center which runs on
a
"4 day on, 2 day off" schedule with 3 around the clock shifts. There
are
3 "lines", that is, employee group#1 starts with Monday and Tuesday
off,
group #2 starts with Wednesday and Thursday off, and group #3 starts
with
Friday and Saturday off. This schedule rotates each week so that the
following week gr# 1 is off on Sunday and Monday, etc....

I usually do the whole year out by scheduling one person on each line,
then copying and pasting throughout the rest of the schedule, which is
a
little time consuming.

Thanks for any input.


Mike