J-Walk & Associates, Inc.

PUP v7.2 is Available

This is a minor upgrade for Excel 2013 users. It fixes some problems related to the new single-document interface introduced in Excel 2013. The only significant feature added is the ability to insert a live array formula calendar that begins on Monday, rather than Sunday.

And one feature was removed: Currency Converter.

Most PUP users will not need this upgrade. It's primarily for those who experience problems when running Excel 2013.

To request an upgrade, click here.

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 11 March, 2013 12:48pm | Comments (0)

PUP Compatibility With Excel 2013

PUP v7.1 works with Excel 2013, but it has some problems because Excel 2013 uses a single document interface.

Specifically, the PUP utilities that use a "stay on top" dialog box don't stay on top if you switch to a different workbook window. These are: PUP InfoBox, Text Tools, Interactive Hide/Unhide, Date Picker, Worksheet Map, and Insert Sequence Number. Also, the PUP Enhanced shortcut menus may not appear in all windows.

I plan on releasing a PUP update in 3-4 weeks that will fix these problems.

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 04 February, 2013 2:50pm | Comments (8)

Announcing: PUP/Mac

If you use Excel 2011 for Mac, please check out the brand new PUP/Mac add-in.

You can't beat the price: It's free. No strings attached.

The add-in was adapted by Ron de Bruin, an Excel MVP in The Netherlands. If you find this add-in helpful, please make a donation to Ron. He put a lot of work into this project. He's also responsible for tech support, so if you have a problem contact him (not me).

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 23 November, 2012 3:00pm | Comments (1)

Another PUP Sale

By popular demand, we're conducting another 24-hour sale for Power Utility Pak.

You'll save lots of money, on either version of PUP:

PUP v7: $7.77 (normally $40.00)
PUP v6: $6.66 (normally $39.95)
The complete VBA source code is available for an additional $20.00

The sale begins at 11:00 am U.S. Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 27, and will last for 24 hours.

Click here for the 24-Hour Sale Order Form

Spread the word. This is a great opportunity to buy a PUP license for everyone in your office.

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 21 March, 2012 7:37am | Comments (7)

Do You Hate Mailing Stuff?

I pay my bills online, but sometimes I get a bill that requires me to write a check and mail it. I hate that!

Then it occurred to me that the Power Utility Pak coupon in my books are just as inconvenient. So here's a deal that's valid for the next seven days.

If you own one of my books, and would like a discounted price on PUP v7.1 (for Excel 2007 and later) or PUP v6 (for Excel 2003):

Send me an email with the subject "PUP COUPON" and tell me:

Which book you have
The version of PUP you want
The price shown on the coupon in the back of the book
The first word on Page 100.

If your email passes my rigorous proof of purchase test, I'll reply with a URL where you can make a credit card payment online (or, use Paypal if you prefer). When the payment is processed, I'll send you download instructions.

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 11 October, 2011 2:57pm | Comments (0)

PUP Sale Phase II: Details

Last month, I held an incredibly popular 2-hour sale for my Power Utility Pak add-in. The problem is, half of the world was sleeping during those two hours.

In the interest of fairness to sleepy-heads, I was asked to do another two-hour sale. Figuring out the optimal 2-hour window is too much work, so I decided to make it a 24-hour sale, which begins:

Tuesday, June 7, at 4:00 PM (UTC time)

The start time for some other areas:

Honolulu:Tuesday, June 7, 6:00 AM
US West Coast: Tuesday, June 7, 9:00 AM
US East Coast: Tuesday, June 7, 12:00 noon
London: Tuesday, June 7, 5:00 PM
Moscow: Tuesday, June 7, 8:00 PM
Perth: Tuesday, June 7, 12:00 midnight
Melbourne: Wednesday, June 8, 2:00 AM
New Zealand: Wednesday, June 8, 4:00 AM

The prices are the same as for the previous sale:

PUP v7: $7.77 (normally $40.00)
PUP v6: $6.66 (normally $39.95)
The complete VBA source code is available for an additional $20.00

This will probably be the last PUP sale this year, so now is the time to get a great deal on a great Excel add-in. Even better, buy a license for everyone in your office.

Click here to go to the order form

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 05 June, 2011 3:42pm | Comments (3)

PUP Sale Phase II

Last month, I held an incredibly popular 2-hour sale for my Power Utility Pak add-in.

The problem is, half of the world was sleeping during those two hours.

So another sale is coming up real soon. Watch this space for the date and time.

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 02 June, 2011 7:00pm | Comments (1)

PUP Sale Was Successful

The 2-hour PUP sale is finished. Orders were coming in at the rate of 2.3 per minute, and much higher than that during the first 30 minutes.

The world now has 303 additional licensed users of PUP. And 38% of them will be pouring through the VBA source code to see how it works. Orders came from 26 countries:

Of the licenses purchased, 87% were for PUP v7 -- which means that those users are using Excel 2007 or Excel 2010.

Should I schedule another 2-hour sale that occurs 12 hours later in the day than this one? That would accommodate people who were sound asleep during this sale.

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 03 May, 2011 11:04am | Comments (21)

PUP Sale Coming Up - Two Hours Only

I held a 2-hour sale for Power Utility Pack back in 2009, and it was a big success. Yesterday, somebody asked me if I would ever do it again. The answer is yes!

Check out these prices:

PUP v7: $7.77 (normally $40.00)
PUP v6: $6.66 (normally $39.95)
The complete VBA source code is available for an additional $20.00

The sale will be on Tuesday, May 3 between the hours of 11:00 am and 1:00 pm U.S. Eastern Time (that's 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm GMT).

Plus, you might win a free book. Three books will be given away. Everyone who orders PUP during this 2-hour period will be entered in a drawing to win a free Excel book. Winners choose their book (subject to availability). Each license ordered = one chance to win. Order 100 licenses, and you're practically guaranteed to win at least one book -- maybe all three.

On Tuesday, here's where you go to order: Special 2-Hour Sale Order Form.

Spread the word.

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 28 April, 2011 8:10am | Comments (15)

PUP v7.1 Is Available

I finally got around to posting the PUP v7.1 upgrade. However, most PUP v7 users will not need to upgrade.

The PUP v7.1 version:

Adds support for 64-bit Excel 2010. Note that this has nothing to do with 64-bit Windows. Most people who use Excel 2010 on 64-bit Windows 7 use the 32-bit version of Excel 2010. The upgrade is necessary only for those who use the 64-bit version of Excel 2010. In Excel 2010, choose File - Help to determine if you're running the 64-bit version of Excel.
Displays the PUP dialog box in the center of Excel's window. This is relevant for those who use a dual monitor system.

If you're a registered user of any version of PUP, you can upgrade to PUP 7.1 by submitting the Upgrade Form.

If you've purchased the VBA password for PUP v7, be aware that PUP v7.1 uses the same password. Therefore, you won't need to purchase it again if you upgrade.

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 10 January, 2011 1:59pm | Comments (3)

Attention 64-Bit Excel 2010 Users

I've been working on PUP v7.1, and it's almost ready to go. I've tested it on Excl 2007, 32-bit Excel 2010 Beta (running on Vista), and 64-bit Excel 2010 Beta (running on Windows 7).

Before I release it to the world, I'd like a few other 64-bit Excel users to try it out. If you're interested, send me an email at walkenbach (at) gmail.com.

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 21 January, 2010 11:18am | Comments (0)

PUP v7.1 Revisited

About a week ago I made a blog post about updating my PUP v7 add-in so it works with 64-bit Excel. See: PUP v7.1 is coming.

I indicated that it would be fairly easy to update the code. That was based on some preliminary tests I did using Excel 2007, Excel 2010 and 64-bit Excel 2010. But I was wrong. Updating the code will require more work than I had thought.

Today I learned something about VBA: When you install Office 2010, you get VBA 7. And VBA 7 replaces your previous VBA version. I have three versions of Excel installed on my main system (Excel 2003, Excel 2007, and Excel 2010 Beta). So now, all three of them are running VBA 7 (even though the Help - About dialog tells me it's VBA 6.5 in Excel 2003 and 2007).

What this means is that my tests led me astray. I assumed that I could simply add "PtrSafe" to my API function declarations. That solution works (most of the time) only for VBA 7. Earlier versions of VBA don't recognize the PtrSafe keyword. So, in order to keep PUP v7 compatible with Excel 2007 (running VBA 6.5), I'll need to use the vba7 and win64 compiler directives, and provide two sets of API function declarations. It's still not incredibly difficult, but it's a lot more work than I thought it would be.

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 12 January, 2010 3:04pm | Comments (10)

Fixing Excel’s Dual Monitor Problem

I posted a tip that solves an annoying problem: Dual Monitors and UserForms.

One of the things I'll be doing in PUP v7.1 is to add this fix to all of the UserForms.

Permalink | Posted in What's New? / PUP on 10 January, 2010 1:26pm | Comments (3)

PUP v7.1 Is Coming

Several people have pointed out to me that PUP v7 does not work with 64-bit Excel 2010 Beta.

The problem is with the API function calls.

NOTE: I deleted some of this post because the information is wrong.
See: PUP v71. Revisited.

Fortunately, it's an easy fix. All of the API function declarations need to be modified by adding PtrSafe between Declare and Function. For example, the declaration that starts like this...

Private Declare Function HtmlHelp Lib "HHCtrl.ocx" Alias "HtmlHelpA" ...

~~... must be changed so it starts like this:~~

Private Declare PtrSafe Function HtmlHelp Lib "HHCtrl.ocx" Alias "HtmlHelpA" ...

PUP v7 consists of 87 files, and thirteen of them (including pup7.xlam) need to be modified. 64-bit Excel users can identify these files because you'll get an error message when you try to run the utility contained in that file. ~~If you've purchased PUP v7 with the source code option, you can make the changes yourself, if you're so inclined (make sure you save the file after changing it). Otherwise, just be patient.~~

I hope to have a new version available within ~~a few weeks~~ a month or so.

The new version (called PUP v7.1) will replace the current version, and it will be compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Excel. It will have no other new features, and there will be no charge for current PUP v7 licensed users to upgrade. There's really no reason to upgrade unless you use (or plan to use) the 64-bit version of Excel 2010.

I'm curious... How many of you have tried the 64-bit version of Excel 2010 Beta? Do you plan to? If so, why?

Permalink | Posted in PUP on 04 January, 2010 11:08am | Comments (18)

PUP Blowout Sale On Tuesday

Power Utility Pak sales this year have been absolutely dismal. If the current trend continues, this will be the worst year for PUP sales since 1996. In an attempt to turn that around, we're having a GIANT TWO-HOUR BLOWOUT SALE!

Check out these prices:

PUP v7: $7.77 (normally $40.00)
PUP v6: $6.66 (normally $39.95)
The complete VBA source code is available for an additional $20.00

The sale will be on Tuesday, November 3 between the hours of 11:00 am and 1:00 pm U.S. Eastern Time (that's 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm GMT).

Plus, you might win a free book. Three books will be given away. Everyone who orders PUP during this 2-hour period will be entered in a drawing to win a free Excel book. Winners choose their book (subject to availability). Each license ordered = one chance to win. Order 100 licenses, and you're practically guaranteed to win at least one book -- maybe all three. Actually, anyone who orders 100 licenses should just ask me for a book.