Backpacking Light Trip Planning Spreadsheet Contest Winners

after skimming the entries, I see that many people included their gear. Were we suposed to do this? I thought it was ment to help people to plan their lists?

everyone did a nice job, good luck.

P.S. this was my first experience with this software so I dont really expect to win :-) so good luck to all…again

Wow! Lots of work went into these. On first review I really like David Lewis’s sheet. It’s simple elegance appeals to me. And I am appreciate the nod from Alice P. Neuhauser. I’m glad my sheet was of use.

One thing I like to see in a gear spreadsheet is the ability to do (2) people side by side. The one I currently use can do this. I often backpack with a partner and so we share cooking and safety items.

Anyway, impressive work by all. I’m sure 100’s of hours were put into this task.

I also like the David Lewis submission for it’s simplicity
and easy metric to imperial conversion. Works well in NeoOffice which is rapidly becoming my favorite alternative to MicroSquash.

The Jim Woods submission isn’t opening properly from the link but do have it from another source.

John Shannon’s isn’t downloading at all–I get a screen full of code.

update–Alles schön, at this point all links work.

John–it won’t download at all. Same as the 2 entries below you. I can’t bring it to the desktop. Nothing to drag.

Yes–on a Mac running Tiger.

If you just get code on a page (e.g., John Shannon’s files) try right-clicking (control-clicking) on the link and downloading directly to a file. The “problem” some of you are having is that your browsers don’t recognize the file extension and so get confused.

The broken links for Meir Gottleib and Ben Tomsky should work now.

Thanks for the hard work guys. There are some great ideas in these spreadsheets.

I don’t see my entry listed here. Did I miss the cutoff or is it for members only?

Thanks Ken! That’s a big help.

Bob

Is there a NeoOffice equivalent to the Excel feature–
“Analysis ToolPak”?

The Gottlieb spreadsheet has some very desirable features but I really want a spreadsheet that works in the NeoOffice environment. I have not been able to take advantage of the best parts of Meir’s entry.

Adding a row:

1. Insert row- Place cursor (highlites the cell) in area you want to add a row. The row will be added above where you place the cursor. Then go to insert menu and select row.
2. Copy correct format- Since the added row won’t have the appropriate formatting, choose a nearby row (preferably blank), select that row from columns B through K, and copy using either the edit menu or command-C on the keyboard.
3. Paste correct format- Paste the copied cells into the newly added row by selecting the new row from columns B through K and using either the edit menu or command-V on the keyboard.

That should automatically update the the unit conversion and total formulas. Make sure it does though.

Kevin,

I don’t have NeoOffice, but this thread might help:

http://trinity.neooffice.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2141

Looks like the CONVERT_ADD function may do the trick.

Thanks for the comments guys :) I haven’t had a chance to look at any of the other entries… but I must say… I’m blown away by the number of entries?!?! Wow! I thought there’d only be a handful of entires. Looking forward to checking them all out.

Just a couple of things…

1. I did include my gear… just as sample content. Nice to have some actual weights to play with to see how the sheet works. I figured it’s easy enough to overwrite my gear… delete rows… add rows… etc.

2. I did NOT test my sheet in NeoOffice. It’s only guaranteed to work in Excel. As I recall… there were one or two errors in NeoOffice. I was originally trying to install Open Office and unless you’re some kind of UNIX geek it seems pretty daunting… so I gave up :) By the time I heard about and downloaded NeoOffice… the deadline was a day away… so I didn’t have time to test it. If I win any of the three prizes… I’d be happy to try and fix and NeoOffice bugs.

3. Carol… the shared idea is neat. But someone still had to carry it right? So it has to be added to either your pack or your partners? I guess the solution would be to double up my columns (so like two lists side by side) and add a “Shared” total? The shared total would still count to your pack weight… but you would know what’s shared and what’s not. You could use an “S” much like I use a “P” for pack and a “W” for wear/consume.

BTW… I like the “database” like approach as well… but it was just a little too much work for me I think… plus I wanted a sheet that was super simple to modify. That was one of my main goals. It works fine for someone like me who’s fairly new to backpacking and doesn’t have a room full of gear :) I don’t really need an “inventory” system.

Dave

>>Maybe we need to make another thread for comments on updated files not included in the contest?

And add a user support hotline…. ;-)>
Thanks, John, will do.
K.