MS Excel is a very useful software program and it has many built in functions. We often hear, " How do I interpolate in Excel, where is the interpolation function?" As many functions as Excel has, it still lacks a simple function to perform quick interpolations. Yet, it should be stated that it is possible to pair up functions (e.g., using forecast, offset, and match functions) to basically performance the interpolation as illustrated here:
http://www.blueleafsoftware.com/Products/Dagra/LinearInterpolationExcel.php
However, this method is not as intuitive as having a simple build in function. There is an XLL file that you can add-in to Excel entitled XlXtrFun ( http://www.xlxtrfun.com/XlXtrFun/XlXtrFun.htm ), however it is not compatible with Excel 2007 or higher versions. Furthermore, at the time of this post it is not possible to download the zipped file from the above website, which makes XlXtrFun a non-viable option.
Which brings us to the motivation for this post:
XonGrid Interpolation AddIn (http://xongrid.sourceforge.net/) is a freely available add-in for Excel which works for both the 32 and 64 bit versions of Excel and is also compatible with the older and newer versions of Excel (e.g., Excel 2003, 2007, 2013) unlike XlXtrFun. While XlXtrFun has many more functions than XonGrid, if you are looking for Excel interpolation add-in functions, XonGrid is perfect for you.
As a nice bonus to improve computations if you are doing many simulations interpolations of the same basic dataset, the XonGrid interpolation functions can be used as part of array functions, as mentioned in http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/introducing-array-formulas-in-excel-HA001087290.aspx. Instead of using the sum function mentioned in the above article, you can use the interp1d function as part of the XonGrid package. Be sure to fix the data range with the $ characters, so that when the array function is populated in each cell, the data range is not changed, only the xo value change which will corresponded to the desired yo value that you find.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Preventing the Java Updater from including the Ask Toolbar in the installer
The Java Updater has an annoying habit of prompting the user to install the Ask.com Toolbar. This unwanted behavior occurs every time a Java update is released. We found a solution to this that involves modifying the registry, and wrote this small application that does the registry modification for the user.
To use it, right-click on the program and select Run as Administrator. Please send any questions to noberg at illinois dot edu.
Download link: EXE or ZIP [16 KB]. The source code (Visual Studio 2010, C# project) is also available as a ZIP.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Flowing Fix: Show Hidden Files on your Computer
Some times you really need to access special data files which operating systems typical hide. Here is how you go about unhiding those files. Warning: this files are hidden for a reason, so please take care with manipulating the files.
Mac OSX
Option 1: via Terminal command line
To enable hidden files/folders in finder windows:
1) Open Finder
2) Open the Utilities folder
3) Open a terminal window
4) Copy and paste the following line in:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
5) Press return
6) Now hold ‘alt-option’ on the keyboard and right click on the Finder icon
7) Click on Relaunch
After Finder relaunches you should be able to see the any hidden files or
folders (which will appear as lighter icons compared to normal file icons).
8) After completing the you task with the hidden files, it is best to re-hide the files. Follow the same steps (1-7) above but this time replace step 4 terminal command with the following:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles NO
Option 2: via free software
If you do not like the terminal method, you can use this free software: hideswitch, from http://www.creativecag.com/software
MS Windows 7
1) Control Panel
2) In search window type, Folder Options and select it
3) Click the View tab
4) Under advanced settings, click the Option button to "Show hidden files, folders, or drives"
5) [optional], it is recommended to UNCHECK the option to "Hide extensions for known file types"
Mac OSX
Option 1: via Terminal command line
To enable hidden files/folders in finder windows:
1) Open Finder
2) Open the Utilities folder
3) Open a terminal window
4) Copy and paste the following line in:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
5) Press return
6) Now hold ‘alt-option’ on the keyboard and right click on the Finder icon
7) Click on Relaunch
After Finder relaunches you should be able to see the any hidden files or
folders (which will appear as lighter icons compared to normal file icons).
8) After completing the you task with the hidden files, it is best to re-hide the files. Follow the same steps (1-7) above but this time replace step 4 terminal command with the following:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles NO
Option 2: via free software
If you do not like the terminal method, you can use this free software: hideswitch, from http://www.creativecag.com/software
MS Windows 7
1) Control Panel
2) In search window type, Folder Options and select it
3) Click the View tab
4) Under advanced settings, click the Option button to "Show hidden files, folders, or drives"
5) [optional], it is recommended to UNCHECK the option to "Hide extensions for known file types"
Friday, April 19, 2013
Flowing Fix: Simple search to find the large attachments in Gmail
Is your gmail account getting full? Easily search for large messages which are filling up your account.
To search for attachements greater than 25MB, in the Gmail search box enter: size:25000000
other examples:
Friday, March 15, 2013
Flowing Fix: How to quickly mirror your data to a second hard drive
Robust File Copy (or Robocopy) is a command-line command to replicate directories. It is a standard feature in Windows since Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.
To help us use the "robocopy" command more readily we create simple batch files
1) In Windows, open Notepad and enter the following information into the new text file:
set log=C:\tmp\LogName.log
set opts=/NP /XJ /R:0 /COPY:DAT /E /LOG+:%log% /TEE
del /F /Q %log%
robocopy "C:\yourSourceFolder" "F:\yourDestinationFolder" %opts%
To help us use the "robocopy" command more readily we create simple batch files
1) In Windows, open Notepad and enter the following information into the new text file:
set log=C:\tmp\LogName.log
set opts=/NP /XJ /R:0 /COPY:DAT /E /LOG+:%log% /TEE
del /F /Q %log%
robocopy "C:\yourSourceFolder" "F:\yourDestinationFolder" %opts%
Note: "C:\yourSourceFolder" and "F:\yourDestinationFolder" should be replaced with your source and destination folders.
2) Then, save this text file and change the extension to ".bat" to create a DOS batch file.
3) To run, just double click on the .bat file
3) To run, just double click on the .bat file
About the batch file you just created:
First line: defines the name and location to store the log file.
Second line: sets the options required to mirror the data
/NP - turns off the progress of copying of the copying operation
/XJ - excludes junction points (important for user folders on Windows 7, etc.)
/R:0 - sets the retries for failed copies to zero
/COPY:DAT - Specifies the file properties to be copied, DAT is Data, Attributes, and Time stamps
/E - Copies subdirectories (including empty directories)
/LOG+: - Writes the status output to the log file (appends the output to the existing log file)
/TEE - Writes the status output to the console window, as well as to the log file.
Third line: deletes the log file before running.
Fourth line: executes "robocopy" to copy the data from "C:\yourSourceFolder" to "F:\yourDestinationFolder" using the options provide on line two of the batch file.
For more information about robocopy and list of options refer to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733145(v=ws.10).aspx
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