yes thats what i mostly use to generate the numbers i hit (f9). i'm still not
to clear but i'll try the ask the question i'm thinking of. lets say that you
have a 52 card deck (which is mostly what i'm generating) and with each
number that comes up after generating i have a corresponding text that comes
up with (ex. if i generate a 1 out of rand()*51+1 then the text will come up
as 2 of clubs etc..). so i guess what i'm trying to ask is there a formula
for making sure that your five card hand is not dupliacted? does this make
any sense? i appreciate youyr feedback.

"Ragdyer" wrote:

What you're really looking for is a *random order* of pre-determined data,
names or numbers.

The simplest approach for something like this is to insert a column along
side your existing column of data, and enter the Rand() function in this
column.
Then sort the 2 columns, with the Rand() function as the sort key, and
you'll have your "Random Order", of course, without any duplication.

There are slightly more intricate procedures using a formula, where you can
display a new random order with every click of the <F9 key, where sorting
is not necessary.

Post back if you might be interested in this.
--
Regards,

RD

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please keep all correspondence within the NewsGroup, so all may benefit !
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"mcmil" wrote in message
...
i am sort of new at this and dealing with functions. i have a question
about
indexing. once i have randomly generated a name or number from a list i
previously set up (and i got the random name by
using=index(a73:a173,rand()*99+1) how do i now generate another name but
making sure that the two names do not come up twice. is there an easy
formula
for this?
i use it for numbers also, i guess there's no difference. in other words i
dont wont the names/numbers to come up twice when generating.
thanks.