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Multiple Biabacus files to create your shopping list?

Post #1 made 8 years ago
by Inconceivable
Hi to all

I have a question about querying/ looking up data across a lot of Biabacus files and wonder if someone has already solved this challenge and can tell me how.

I have been loading my "to-brew" recipes into individual Biabacus files and setting them aside for future use. It'd be nice to be able to query all of these files to determine what ingredients I'll need to brew them all. For example if I have six recipes loaded into six different Biabacus files and I want to know how much Cascade Hops I'll need to brew the lot, I could either open each file and note down the required quantity <OR> I could have a tool query all six files and tell me how many grams of Cascade I need.

I was meddling briefly with Excel power query but it occurred to me I was unnecessarily re-inventing the wheel; probably someone else in the community is already doing this and can steer me in the right direction?

Anyone done this already or got a suggestion?

cheers
Nick
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Post #2 made 8 years ago
by thughes
Good question Nick. I'm no programmer or software engineer and in fact can barely spell "spredsheeet" but I believe what you are trying to do would most efficiently be accomplished with a database. If BIABacus were a pure software program this could be easily accomplished. The fact that it is a spreadsheet based tool makes BIABacus very portable and non-operating system specific but does limit some "bells-and-whistles" functionality such as you seek.

If others have managed to accomplish what you are trying to do, I'm sure they will chime in. As to using Excel power query....If you manage a solution using that please let us know but do keep in mind that many BIAbacus users are running the open source LibreOffice spreadsheet program and won't be able to utilize the proprietary tools/functionality of Microsoft's Excel.


---Todd
WWBBD?
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Post #3 made 8 years ago
by PistolPatch
Nick, great question :peace:,

I'll echo what thughes said above.

Some History

Early BIABaci versions had macros that allowed all sorts of things such as exporting and importing recipes. The problem was that the macros only worked on some operating systems and/or Excel versions.

After that failing, I was advised that the BIABacus could be written into a "proper program" online. Myself and Kostas spent probably over a thousand hours on that writing databases etc, etc. In hindsight, that was really bad advice as I can't find a single example (online or stand-alone) that can handle the complexity that underlies the BIABacus.

I then wrote the current BIABacus with one view in mind - no macros.

Where to go from here

I wrote to thughes on this earlier this evening. I do have more advanced (visually slightly simpler yet more powerful) versions of the BIABacus written but, until programming develops, I can't see us producing what I really want any time soon.

For the above reason, the focus now is on re-structuring this site completely so as info is easy to find. BIABacus-wise, this means not much will change with the BIABacus except finding help/info faster.

If you have any ideas

My focus is currently off the BIABacus and I don't even know what Excel Power Query is :)! If you have any ideas, please let me know.

One other option for the new site is to re-write the BIABacus into LibreOffice so as (maybe) any macros will work for everyone???

Cheers and fingers crossed,
PP
Last edited by PistolPatch on 20 Apr 2016, 22:52, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #5 made 8 years ago
by ShorePoints
Inconceivable, This may not help you, but on a Mac, the search function (press and hold the Apple, or command, key and then the space bar) and enter the search item, such as Cascade, and all the .xls and other files with Cascade in them (not just titles) appear. Surely there must be something like it in other operating systems?
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Post #6 made 8 years ago
by PistolPatch
Oldgit wrote:Hi
Can I make biabacus work on a iPad please
I can't type anything at all in
I don't know anything about iPads or tablets sorry Oldgit. Look for an 'Excel' or 'Office' app for your iPad. If you can find one, then I think the BIABacus would have no probs.

Anyone else know more on this?
Last edited by PistolPatch on 21 Apr 2016, 20:18, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #8 made 8 years ago
by Oldgit
I have down loaded excel for iPad
When I open biabacus it won't let me type
How's it work should biabacus download to my iPad, or should I be able to use it on this site only

Post #9 made 8 years ago
by Hoover
I had the same but with android tablets, in the end I used Apache on my windows machine. The tablets would load but not edit.
I was use to Ms office with access, use to create access front sheet to input viables and then view in excel Brill! Since coming back to a PC, everything has taken a backward step and is really bad!!

Post #12 made 8 years ago
by PistolPatch
If no one else has posted yet that they can get the BIABacus working on an iPad then you are probably doing nothing wrong Oldgit. Also...

1. The BIABacus is extremely powerful and flexible - no other brewing software can do it calculations.
2. The above was a lovely side-effect of having only one goal in mind - to educate.
3. Other software spreads information over several screens. The BIABacus has all info on one screen (a blessing and a curse). A tablet screen will only curse you - the bigger the screen the better.

An iPad or Tablet is not going to serve you well Oldgit. We've tried a million ways of just trying to serve normal computers and operating systems - thousands of hours (and a massive negative financial return). I can read (haven't tried using it) the BIABacus fine on my phone but I know it. To know it though you really do need a full screen.

...

Hoover, I remember Access well and wrote (without any programming skills) a beautiful and extremely complex but fantastically easy to use program for a furniture retail shop in about 4 months. It was amazing! Anytime I have mentioned Access and the BIABacus to experts, I have been laughed at. The funny thing is that in all the solutions I have been offered, none of them could work and, I can't tell you how much time and money was spent chasing these solutions. I was like a dog faithfully following a bone. Why wouldn't I? I'm no expert.

I think the next incarnation of the BIABacus might even be from me studying LibreOffice Suite and seeing if that can do now the things that Access used to be able to do so well.

Fingers crossed :peace:,
PP
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Post #13 made 8 years ago
by Mad_Scientist
The WPS Office app works on an iPad. I use this all the time on my Android.

I pull up BIABacus files all the time on my Moto X, view, edit, save, save to cloud, etc. :smoke:
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Post #15 made 8 years ago
by Inconceivable
Thanks for the feedback and history gents. I might refer the question to my finance types at work under the guise of real work haha.
I'd imagine since it's a known cell location in each workbook it'll be possible; but perhaps not with freeware
Will update if i crack the case
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Post #16 made 8 years ago
by Inconceivable
Oops forgot to mention that I appreciate Biabacus and think it's a great tool. I use it ahead of other brewing software including Beersmith so thanks to all involved
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Post #18 made 8 years ago
by PistolPatch
Inconceivable wrote:...I might refer the question to my finance types at work under the guise of real work haha.
I'd imagine since it's a known cell location in each workbook it'll be possible; but perhaps not with freeware
Will update if I crack the case
Good stuff ;).

The key will be not using any macros so it would be fantastic if they can come up with a solution.

I'm tempted, in some ways, to put the final release of the BIABacus out as a LibreOffice file :scratch:. The advantage of doing that would be it might be possible to incorporate macros that will work on any OS as long as you just download LibreOffice.

It's a hard call :dunno:.
Last edited by PistolPatch on 26 Apr 2016, 19:48, edited 1 time in total.
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