OVER 2 YOU, 012 (11/01/01)

TICKET PRINTING

I help to run a village music society and am looking for a software application that would enable me to print entrance tickets that automatically number each ticket from zero to 300.

John Bartlett,

All you need is Excel and Word. Set up a new spreadsheet with the headings that you need to be printed on the tickets e.g. cost, date and number. In the number column right click the + at the bottom left corner and drag down to highlight 300 cells, select fill series from the drop down box which will automatically number the tickets for you when you print them. Replicate all of the other information in all cells in a column and save as Tickets. Open Word and design the ticket. Now mail merge the word document to the spreadsheet (Data source) and print. To change any details just amend the data source, which means the next production will be easy to prepare for. This is the way many tired teachers prepare professional looking pupil reports.
Deborah McKay,

You can use Microsoft Word to print sequentially numbered tickets easily. Set up a one-column table with "TickNum" in the first cell and whatever range of numbers you want below it, one number to a cell. Save document and exit.

In a new document, set up a table of say 2 cols by 3 rows and fully design the ticket in the top left one. Click on Tools, Mail Merge and, using the MailMerge Helper, for Main Document take the Labels option and use the Active Window option. For Database open the "Ticknum" document above and use the Set Up Main Document option. Cancel the Label Options box, then close the MailMerge Helper.

Use the MailMerge toolbar, click on InsertMergeField and insert the TickNum field where desired. Once fully designed, copy cell one to all other cells. Then, in all cells except the top left one use InsertWordField to insert the NextRecord field. Save, then use the MergeToNewDocument option on the MailMerge toolbar to create the merged document (50 sheets of 6 "labels" = 300 tickets). Now, where are those scissors…

Note - you can also do this with a spreadsheet, creating the ticket in one cell and the number in an adjoining cell, copying down as required; the MailMerge option is better if you have Word or a similar WP.

Andrew Goodenough

My solution is to use a DOS-based desktop publishing package called JetSetter Platinum.  If you do a google.com search on 'JetSetter Platinum' you will find one or two resellers of the package.

I have used JetSetter extensively for about four years.  Although DOS based it is much easier to use than most Windows packages and has a large uncluttered screen area to work on.  It has a reasonable range of fonts and some useful drawing facilities. The labels, tickets, consecutive numbering facilities provided in its JetLabel utility have worked well for me in a variety of projects. You can also do data merging from a simple comma delimited file.  This too is relatively simple and straightforward.  The manual is unusual in that you can actually understand it and find answers to your queries. The program takes up little space on your hard disk, and running under DOS is very quick.

Richard Carr,
 

I have used WPWin7 (Wordperfect) for some years to produce automatically numbered tickets. To do so, select Subdivide Page from the format menu.  Divide the page into two columns and four rows.  Each portion is now treated as a page and can be automatically numbered.  Now choose Watermark from the format menu and set up your text and any graphics, with shading set to 100%. The text appears on your display, in every page. Hitting Ctrl + Enter repeatedly, or holding it down, gives you as many pages as needed.

To make cutting easier, it’s a good idea to create a precisely measured grid to the measurements which will give exact sub-division of the (presumably) A4 page.  This has to be printed on a second run.

Don Finlay,

To get numbered tickets, any number of numbers, you can use MS Works, V4.(Probably other packages as well.) Prepare a database and using the fill series( down), 1, in the first field  gives you your ticket number. Add, say, up to 3 other fields giving information about the event. They can be filled - down, as many rows as you have numbers. Then open a new word processor file and go to the Tools/labels menu. Use the database you have just prepared to setup the labels following the very simple instructions. If you want to, you can add a piece of clipart to the ticket using the advanced/edit function. You can also choose a font or fonts for the text. You have the choice of many sizes of label, print onto reasonable paper stock, and cut with scissors or a guillotine.

Neville Richard,

POWER COMPANIES

Has anyone written an Excel spreadsheet to calculate which of the power companies will give the best deal for your area? What is required is a method of entering the number of units of gas and electricity used again the cost per unit of each supplier. This information is obtainable from the Ofgem.gov.uk web side. Standing order charges and direct debit discount also require taking into account

Peter Martin,

The website to use is www.pbrs.co.uk it has a calculator which works out your gas and electricity consumption (either by you averaging your yearly bill or by units used) and then compares you to every single (yes every single) supplier and lists the top 20. It even works out the discounts for direct debit monthly payment if that's what you opt for.  It is fantastic, totally impartial and saved us £30 a year just on electricity alone.

Marsha Millar,

There is a website that will calculate this for you, as well as similar comparisons for water, electric, mobile phones, credit cards, personal loans etc etc. For gas comparisons, just click the 'gas' link on the left hand side. The website is:
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/
Martin Solan.,

CAN YOU HELP?

Is there a web site with a comprehensive directory of poems preferably listed by title, first line and author?

Vic Holloway,

I have produced a website with a football prediction competition. Pre season every year a number of people (400) guess a range of questions (25 in total) who's going to win the championship to how many points will England accumulate etc. I have found a company to host the site and get an email back from the entry form. I use Outlook as my email application and Excel as my database of all the entries and answers to the questions. This involves a great deal of cut and pasting 44 fields in all per entry x 400 entrants. Can you advise me of any easier way to go about this as it currently takes me days, sore hands and eyes! The website is www.Scrabblefootball.com
Paul Walman,

I would like to produce some route finding programs for fairly simple networks, such as local public footpaths. Does anyone know of software designed to allow users do this?

S Bean,