G'day there Zack,

Helmut is on the right track.

He usually is =)

Work on prevention rather than clean-up.

I would dearly love to, but that's out of my hands at the moment
(I've just replied to another message in this thread re that matter).

It will make your life much easier.

I certainly shan't argue that with you. I fully agree. The problem
is that they are two separate entities.

The first entity is a worksheet filled with strings describing
shifts. It's designed completely as an electronic copy of a paper form
with almost no automation - that some clients don't even bother to use.

The second, my current project, uses those forms as raw data for
the construction of a list of selected employees with associated data
(based on shift times - that is "Who's working at 17:00 on Saturday the
25th?") that can be sorted, filtered, printed, and manipulated.

So, you're exactly right but I'm stuck with what I've got until I
can get to my next project which addresses the problems with the first
entity.

Depending on how this information is sent
to you, if in Excel, you have options such as Data Validation, UserForms,
sheet controls or even worksheet event code.

No. Excel has those options, but I don't. Not yet, anyway!!

If I worked for someone other than a government department, the
whole thing would probably have been automated years ago!

Thanks for your advice. I *do* appreciate it!

--
See ya,
Ken McLennan
Qld, Australia