FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I get a Macro security warning when opening the Plan Generator ? 

There are no security risks associated with this Macro! However, a generic warning message will be displayed on most systems, or Macros may be disabled. For a general overview of Macro security issues, read this article.

Macros are a very useful tool to automate tasks in Microsoft® Office. Unfortunately, like another programming language, it can be misused. There are Macro Virus, so Microsoft® Office can be configured to request permission to run macros. Only run macros from known sources. OfficeHelp.Biz macros are Virus Free and can be open with confidence. Microsoft® Office XP/2003 Warning: Macros may need to be activated. Follow instructions on the message Microsoft® Excel XP/2003 will show, if necessary. Read this article for additional information.

Help - The button doesn't work but there are no warnings 

If you can open the Microsoft® Excel file (both the DEMO and/or the commercial version) and get no warnings but the button just won't work, you have Macro support disabled. Please refer (click here) to our article on Macro security issues for information on how to configure Microsoft® Office Macro security settings.

How do I get Support ? 

Use the Support Contact Us page on this website. No registration is necessary. Clearly describe your problem and contact details. We will get in touch with you ASAP. Also, the generic Contact Us page is present at the top of EVERY page on this website . Click here to jump to it. 

User Support

Can I stop the macro while it's running?

Yes. Press the ESC key and it will stop with a warning message that it was interrupted before finishing generating the calendar.

What are Daily Calendar Plans?

Daily Calendar Plans are calendar plans with a column for each separated day in the calendar main interval. This gives maximum detail but produces long calendars for large periods. Better for smaller periods, when details are important.

What are Weekly Calendar Plans?

Weekly Calendar Plans are calendar plans with a column for each separated week in the calendar main interval. This gives less detail but produces compact calendars for larger periods. Better for larger periods, when the "big picture" is important.

Can I make them both using the same task list?

Yes, of course. Just select "make" on both of them and press run. But it is usually better to use different "Split by (months)" values for each type. For a 1 year calendar, the best values for split are 3 months for daily and 6 months or no split for weekly calendars.

Automatic Calendar Split

Excel has a built in limit of 256 columns. Since it uses a column for each day/week, and some columns are used for data and formatting, you cannot have calendars longer than 253 days/weeks. Very long calendars can also be impossible to read once printed. The Calendar Plan Generator macro will warn you if the calendar reach the limits and propose an automatic split of the calendar into several plans. For your convenience, each calendar will have the task headings and splits are automatically made at the last full month. No months will be split in the middle.

How to use it?

1) Fill in the general (header) input fields (PIC. 1):

1. The name of the calendar, that will be used to name the Microsoft® Excel sheet on the calendar file;
2. The start and end date for the calendar;
3. The split options (see below for more information - leave them as default for the first tests);
4. The output types (Daily or Weekly, can be both);

PIC. 1 - Header Input Fields

2) Fill the task details on the Tasks table (PIC. 2):

• Level: Level of the task. Level 0 means a task group so no % is used and has a bold label. Labels are indented to their level;
• Color: Color to use for the task bar. Just change the cell background color using the Microsoft® Excel taskbar button for that;
• Deadline: If it has a "Y" or "y", the task bar will end with a red "D" on the last day, the deadline;
• StartDate: Date when the task bar should start. If before the Plan start date, the bar will start on the first day on the plan;
• EndDate: Date when the task bar should end. If after the last day on the Plan, the bar will end on the Plan last date;
• Name: Task name or label.

PIC. 2 - Tasks details table

3) Press the Run button on the header to generate the calendar.

4) If not satisfied, close (dump it) the Calendar workbook generated by the macro, change the details you want and generate a new calendar with the corrected details!

5) When satisfied, save the calendar to the disk. You can now make manual changes, multiple copies and work with it as any other regular Microsoft® Excel file!

What is the "Split Every (months)" option?

Instead of having very long calendars, you can have them split for you, automatically, every N months. You have to select a value from the list supplied, other values will not work.

What is the "Split by" option?

If your calendar plan is split, you can opt for each calendar plan to be made on the same sheet (having them all together and pre-formatted for the printer) or separated on an Excel Workbook for each. Same sheet is the default option.

Can I leave a Blank line between tasks?

Yes, just enter a level 0 blank task (no data or name). The supplied sample data has one (line 19).

How does the Plan Generator knows when the tasks end?

The macro will stop on the first task line with no data on the task level. So if you leave the task level empty on a line, it will stop there even if more tasks exist after that line.