To use the automated walks slips on your computer, you will need to have either a Windows computer with a copy of Microsoft Excel (version 2003 or later) or a Mac computer with Excel 2011, be comfortable using it, and have permission to allow "macros" to run.  Unfortunately, the slips will not run on a Mac using Excel 2008 or earlier.  Macros are short programs that have been written to handle the automation tasks involved in preparing the walks listing but, for security reasons, their use normally has to be explicitly authorised.  Potential users can be assured that these particular macros are safe!

To use the system, first download a copy of the spreadsheet from here and save it somewhere safe on your computer.  Open the file you have just downloaded, either by double-clicking on it or by opening it from within an already-running copy of Excel.  At this point, you may get a security warning that the file contains macros - if you do, click on "Enable Macros", which will allow the ones in this file to run, but no others.  A spreadsheet will open, with a "Harrogate Rambling Club - Walk Details" title and an image of the club badge.  The spreadsheet columns are the standard ones that the Programme Secretary uses to prepare each walk programme.

Before you go any further, it would probably be sensible to resave the spreadsheet, using "Save As", under a different name.  This will avoid over-writing the master copy that you have just downloaded.  It's not a problem if you do over-write it by accident, of course, because you can always download a new copy.

Now left-click once on the club logo on the spreadsheet.  A form headed "Enter Walk Details" will appear, containing fields for all the information needed to define a walk.  Simply fill in each field, either by typing directly into them or by using the pull-down blocks at the right-hand edge of several of them.  Some useful points are:

•  The fields with pull-down lists are preset with the only valid entries (eg walk grades A, B, C, C/D, D and E).
•  If you need a reminder of the walks grading system, you can download a copy in "PDF" (Adobe Acrobat) format from here.
•  The date can be in pretty-much any common format - a macro will convert it to the standard format for the walks programme.  It will even accept dates in US (mm/dd/yy) rather than European (dd/mm/yy) format although, if there's any ambiguity, it will assume that the European format has been used.  Best to stick to that, then!
•  When entering the map details, include the relevant letters in the "Grid Ref" field;  ie, it should look like "SE123456" rather than "123456"
•  If you want to start again, left-click on the "Clr Form" button or, if you want to give up for now, click on "Finish"

You should normally leave the "Use Normal Format?" section set to "Yes", because the program will assemble the data you enter into the standard format for the walks programme.  If you wish to prepare data in a non-standard format - E walks often do - select "No".  Many fields will then be blanked out and you should type the precise description you require in the "Route Details" field.

When you have entered the data to your satisfaction, click the "OK" button, and you will see the data entered into the spreadsheet.

At this point, you can either click "Finish" to finish entering data, or enter new walk details, either by editing the existing fields in the form or by clicking "Clr Form" to have a blank sheet.  If you enter several walks, the program will automatically sort them into date and grade order.

When you have finished, click "Finish" to close the walk entry form.   Having done so, you should re-save the spreadsheet, which now contains your walk(s).   Finally, send your spreadsheet as an e-mail attachment to your Walks Collector or the Programme Secretary as appropriate.

Finally, if you have any problems with the spreadsheet, or queries or comments about it, please contact David Peckett via the webmaster link at the bottom of this page

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