I have a worksheet with data updated from a mainframe database.
Another worksheet has a vlookup-function.

As the imported format is 'General', the lookup-function doesn't work (gives
a #N/A) before I use *The Copy Blank Fix* that I've learned from
http://www.officearticles.com/excel/...soft_excel.htm
(THANK YOU!).

I.e. copy a blank cell and use Edit/Paste special Add to change the format.
And thereby Excel to see it as numbers.

But how can I avoid this cumbersome procedure everytime I update all my
external data?
Thanks in advance for any help on this !

Hi Jan,

You could automate the fix via a macro, or you could possibly change the way
your lookup function works.

Cheers


"Jan" wrote in message
...
I have a worksheet with data updated from a mainframe database.
Another worksheet has a vlookup-function.

As the imported format is 'General', the lookup-function doesn't work
(gives
a #N/A) before I use *The Copy Blank Fix* that I've learned from

http://www.officearticles.com/excel/...soft_excel.htm
(THANK YOU!).

I.e. copy a blank cell and use Edit/Paste special Add to change the
format.
And thereby Excel to see it as numbers.

But how can I avoid this cumbersome procedure everytime I update all my
external data?
Thanks in advance for any help on this !