button to run application, and all negative numbers will be changed to positive numbers. See screenshot:
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5 months ago
I chose a simpler solution, no formulas needed.
First, to preserve the original data in case I goofed up, I copied the raw CMM measurement data in Worksheet 1 to Worksheet 2.
Next, In Worksheet 2, I selected the multiple disconnected blocks of cells which had some negative numbers I wanted to convert to positive numbers. Then, I simply used the “replace” function to replace the minus sign with … nothing! It worked perfectly, and was clean; no formulas, no conditional formatting, and the raw unaltered data remained on Worksheet 1 as my backup resource.
Applying a formula is not always the answer. I love using Excel to do data logging, tracking, analysis, and to answer so many math questions, both at work and personally.
At work, I measure parts, and the machine measures distances to the left as negative numbers, and not just a positive number distance. Other measurements, though, are at a position of being on a datum X or Y, at zero. Those measurements will be off zero in the positive or negative direction, and I need hose occasional negative numbers to remain negative.
That meant I had to select a partial column here, another there, and skip ones that measured around a zero target, then apply that “negative sign removal) to only those measurements that were negatives, but did not have zero as the target dimension. It is probably confusing until actually seeing the spreadsheet I was fixing, but the method I chose worked perfectly, and had no formula involved, just a clean minus-sign removal done as a “replace” edit.
Thank you,
Joel
First, to preserve the original data in case I goofed up, I copied the raw CMM measurement data in Worksheet 1 to Worksheet 2.
Next, In Worksheet 2, I selected the multiple disconnected blocks of cells which had some negative numbers I wanted to convert to positive numbers. Then, I simply used the “replace” function to replace the minus sign with … nothing! It worked perfectly, and was clean; no formulas, no conditional formatting, and the raw unaltered data remained on Worksheet 1 as my backup resource.
Applying a formula is not always the answer. I love using Excel to do data logging, tracking, analysis, and to answer so many math questions, both at work and personally.
At work, I measure parts, and the machine measures distances to the left as negative numbers, and not just a positive number distance. Other measurements, though, are at a position of being on a datum X or Y, at zero. Those measurements will be off zero in the positive or negative direction, and I need hose occasional negative numbers to remain negative.
That meant I had to select a partial column here, another there, and skip ones that measured around a zero target, then apply that “negative sign removal) to only those measurements that were negatives, but did not have zero as the target dimension. It is probably confusing until actually seeing the spreadsheet I was fixing, but the method I chose worked perfectly, and had no formula involved, just a clean minus-sign removal done as a “replace” edit.
Thank you,
Joel