Knowledge Base
Straight answers about data, databases and more
No jargon, no sales pitch – just the questions we’re asked most often, answered honestly. Written from the actual work we do for clients.
Viruses don’t really matter, do they?
It's easy to get blase about viruses. We're always hearing about companies being hit. But what if it really mattered? What if the lights went out?
My bank account is empty. Help yourself.
There is nothing in my account, so hackers are welcome to it. I do not care who knows my email address. Does it really matter if someone hacks my kettle? We hear all three on our courses, and I share the frustration. But you have far more of value than you think. Here is what.
The BEST cyber-security podcast
A few weeks back I wrote about some great cyber security podcasts. Hackable, the Cyberwire, Hacking Humans, Darknet Diaries. All excellent, and I still listen to them all. But if I only had time for one, it would not be any of them. It would be Smashing Security, and here is why.
Great cyber security podcasts
There are never enough hours to answer the urgent emails, finish last week's work, pay the bills and brush your teeth, let alone keep up with your field. Podcasts are the answer. Here are the cyber security ones I genuinely look forward to, starting with the daily Cyberwire.
What does a database cost?
The honest answer is "it depends" – and here's exactly what it depends on, why we can't give you a number without knowing more, and why fixed-price contracts are probably not as appealing as they sound.
Migrating from Access to SharePoint
Someone got in touch about building an Access database with nowhere obvious to put the data. Shared drives were going away, and IT policy ruled out my usual answer of a SQL Azure back end. That left SharePoint, which their IT department insisted was incompatible with Access. It is not, and here is the proof.
Creating Excel Macros (part 1)
Creating a macro is a step towards a more powerful you. With macros you can do almost limitless things to customise, integrate and gain power from Microsoft Office – and more. Take the first step, and create a macro in just 60 seconds
When should you use a database?
I spend a good part of my life looking at problem spreadsheets, and far too often I have to tell the client they are using the wrong tool for the job. It is rarely foolishness. It is familiarity. To a person with a hammer, every problem is a nail. Ten signs it is time to move.
Is Microsoft Access any good?
Is Microsoft Access being phased out? Is it secure? Is it right for me? When should I use Access and when should I use SQL? Let's answer these questions and more, and separate the fact from the fiction.
Why use a database?
Most people who have Microsoft Office use Word, and very many use Excel. But comparitively few people use Microsoft Access. In this article, we look at just some of the things that Access databases can do.
10 questions to ask before you build a database
Whether your database controls a manufacturing process or manages your customer relations, there are some key questions to ask before you click that "New Database" button…
Microsoft Access basics: How to manage Linked tables
The last of three parts on linked tables. In theory they need no management and simply work, and to a large extent that is true. In practice there will be moments of Huh? and Oh no. Here are our top three tips, starting with why you cannot redesign a linked table where you are looking at it.
Microsoft Access basics: How to create Linked tables
Part two of three on linked tables. Having covered why you would split a database at all, here are the practical nuts and bolts. The database splitter wizard, where your back end file should live, and what actually ends up inside it. Remarkably simple, once you know where the button is.
Microsoft Access basics: Why create Linked tables?
Linked tables are strange until somebody explains them properly. Two clients asked me about them in a fortnight, which tells me that those of us doing this all day assume far too much. A cardiovascular surgeon assumes you know how the heart works too. Here is why you split a database at all.
GDPR Training videos – consent
The first principle says data must be processed lawfully, fairly and transparently, and lawfully is the word that matters. You need a lawful basis. Consent is the most famous of the six and comfortably the most misunderstood. We look closely at it, and at when one of the other five fits better.
GDPR training video – the Principles
The third video in the series. There are six core principles in the GDPR, and it is not enough to comply with them. You have to be able to demonstrate that you comply, which is why the regulation is so heavy on documentation. Here we introduce all six, before examining each in turn.
GDPR training videos – definitions within the GDPR
The second video in the series looks at the definitions the whole regulation rests on. Data subjects, who turn out to be natural living people, meaning you and me. Personal data, which is essentially anything relating to us. Plus material and territorial scope: what the GDPR applies to, and where.
GDPR training videos
Customers asked, so we have put together a series of videos on the core principles of the GDPR. It was a challenge, because we believe face to face is the best way to teach a subject this occasionally dry, and nothing replaces eye contact. But we cannot run courses for the whole world.
Is GDPR certification worth anything?
Let us put the bald facts on the table. There is no such thing as official GDPR certification. The ICO has not set a curriculum, and neither has the European Commission. Every certificate out there, ours included, is issued by the company selling the training. Some are honest about that. Some rather less so.
Councils CAN use legitimate interest as a lawful basis under GDPR.
If you process data you need a lawful basis, and you cannot simply look yours up in a list. Legitimate interests is the vaguest of the six, which is exactly why so many controllers reach for it. There is a widespread belief that councils cannot use it. They can, and here is what the ICO says.
What's in the GDPR?
Ever wondered what half a million words of GDPR actually say? So did we. With a little help from the clever people at Tag Crowd, we turned the whole regulation into a word cloud. It turns out the GDPR really is about data, processing and data subjects. Reassuring, in its way.
A guide to GDPR Article 30 – Records of Processing Activities
If you process data more than occasionally, Article 30 says you must keep records of processing activities. That does not mean logging that you changed Mr Smith's address. Here is what it does mean, starting with the question that decides everything else: are you a controller, a processor, or both?
15 things you need to know about the GDPR
The GDPR replaces the ageing Data Protection Act on 25 May 2018, and it applies to anyone handling data about people in the EU, Britain included. PWC reckon more than 90 per cent of organisations will not be ready. Get into the other 10 per cent and you have a real competitive advantage.
Excel waterfall charts – a step-by-step guide
Waterfall charts are a great way to show how a value changes over time, but not everything about them is obvious. In this step-by-step guide we walk you through all you need to know.
Creating Excel Macros (part 2)
In part one we created a simple macro and ran it from a workbook. Now we open it up: what your options actually mean when you create one, more interesting ways to trigger it, the types of procedure available, and a guided tour of the VBA editor that ALT and F11 drops you into.
Creating Excel Macros (part 1)
Creating a macro is a step towards a more powerful you. With macros you can do almost limitless things to customise, integrate and gain power from Microsoft Office – and more. Take the first step, and create a macro in just 60 seconds
Over 100 hidden tools in Microsoft Excel
Excel is so full of tools that it deliberately hides some of them away. Old favourites superseded by newer versions, and genuinely useful things that deserve a wider audience, like the data entry form that takes one click and zero setup. I tried to count how many are hidden, and gave up.
When should you use a database?
I spend a good part of my life looking at problem spreadsheets, and far too often I have to tell the client they are using the wrong tool for the job. It is rarely foolishness. It is familiarity. To a person with a hammer, every problem is a nail. Ten signs it is time to move.
Excel’s data validation tool is not reliable…
Do you use Excel to manage your data? If so, you need to use Data Validation. In this video, we look at how to use it – and when it may let you down!
Goal seek and Solver in Excel
Two genuinely useful Excel tools that plenty of people have never touched. Goal Seek works backwards to an answer when several variables feed into it, and Solver goes further still. I will walk you through both, starting with baker's percentages and three loaf tins, then applying it to a work scenario.
Using RAG statuses with dates in Microsoft Excel
A client on an Excel course wanted their dates colour coded: red for the past, amber for the next week, yellow for a fortnight out and green for anything further away. Anyone with deadlines, renewals or milestones knows the problem. The answer is Conditional Formatting, and here are several ways to do it.
There is a bug in Excel…
Do you trust Excel with maths? Not professor of mathematics maths, just the sort you use to check your change in a shop. Warning: It gets it wrong (sometimes). Here's how, why, and what to do about it.
Advanced Excel conditional formatting video tutorial (part 2)
<strong>Creating dynamic forms with Conditional Formatting</strong><br /> In this video tutorial we take a look at using conditional formatting to make Excel forms dynamically respond to user entries.<br /> For example, display "Additional info" fields when users select a particular value, or display multiple sections based on user input elsewhere.
Microsoft Word – making vertical selections
<strong>Boost your knowledge of Microsoft Word!</strong><br /><br /> One of the first things you find out when using Microsoft Word is that clikcking and dragging selects text.<br /><br /> But doing so selects one or more entire lines. What if you just want to select the leftmost couple of inches of your page to make that text bold? Or apply some special effect to the right-hand few centimetres?<br /><br /> In this post we take a look at how you can select vertical portions of your document.
Use Accents in Microsoft Word
We cannot teach you Spanish, but we can make typing it faster. Instead of hunting through the Symbol dialog every time, here's how to insert all the most common accents with a simple keyboard shortcut.
Santander and Debenhams – how not to do customer service!
I nearly deleted this post while updating the site. Then I reread the last paragraph, where I hoped these companies would one day follow Enron (remember them?) into non-existence. Debenhams now has, and I feel oddly bad about it. Here is the original tale of two companies that forgot who generates the profit.
When did you last give your trainer a gift?
I get the occasional round of applause. I rarely get a gift. I arrived at a ship management company near Victoria clutching a disposable coffee cup, and a delegate quite rightly told me off for it. Then he handed me a rather smart reusable one. Making a difference, one cup at a time.
Councils CAN use legitimate interest as a lawful basis under GDPR.
If you process data you need a lawful basis, and you cannot simply look yours up in a list. Legitimate interests is the vaguest of the six, which is exactly why so many controllers reach for it. There is a widespread belief that councils cannot use it. They can, and here is what the ICO says.
15 things you need to know about the GDPR
The GDPR replaces the ageing Data Protection Act on 25 May 2018, and it applies to anyone handling data about people in the EU, Britain included. PWC reckon more than 90 per cent of organisations will not be ready. Get into the other 10 per cent and you have a real competitive advantage.
Look who’s joined us!
Once in a while we like to say a big thank you to our new customers. Here is the roll call, including Legal and General, where we are training a successor on the actual database they will inherit, and ThermoFisher, who have come to us for Excel. Do get in touch if you would like to join them.
New course – Writing SQL queries
Moving from the comfort blanket of the Access query grid into writing your own SQL can feel cold and unhelpful. Our new course is for people with little or no SQL. SELECT, WHERE, wildcards, text and date functions, and where Transact SQL and Jet SQL part company.
Microsoft Project Training Courses now available!
Another addition to the catalogue: Microsoft Project training. No sitting in a room with a dozen people who all need something different. We find out what you are working on and build the course around that. Take a look at the contents, and tell us what is missing.
Another satisfied customer…
We ran three days of Excel training at Rock-It Cargo this month, matching each course to the experience level of each group. The boss has written to say all three groups were very happy, and that he will have no hesitation in recommending us to colleagues. It is great to know we helped.
Quality training – guaranteed
We say we are good at training. But everyone says that about themselves. We publish testimonials, but every company quotes the happy ones. So here is an actual guarantee: if you are not happy, another day free with a different trainer, or your money back.
HTC, Apple, Microsoft, RIM – I hate you (sometimes)
Most people love technology.<br /><br /> We love buying it, using it, finding all the cool features. Some love showing it off to their friends. And I'm no different.<br /><br /> But sometimes, the tech companies seem to take leave of their senses and do something so <em>stupid</em>, so mind-bogglingly irritating that you just want to throw the kit out the window…
Is GDPR certification worth anything?
Let us put the bald facts on the table. There is no such thing as official GDPR certification. The ICO has not set a curriculum, and neither has the European Commission. Every certificate out there, ours included, is issued by the company selling the training. Some are honest about that. Some rather less so.
A guide to GDPR Article 30 – Records of Processing Activities
If you process data more than occasionally, Article 30 says you must keep records of processing activities. That does not mean logging that you changed Mr Smith's address. Here is what it does mean, starting with the question that decides everything else: are you a controller, a processor, or both?
15 things you need to know about the GDPR
The GDPR replaces the ageing Data Protection Act on 25 May 2018, and it applies to anyone handling data about people in the EU, Britain included. PWC reckon more than 90 per cent of organisations will not be ready. Get into the other 10 per cent and you have a real competitive advantage.
New course – Writing SQL queries
Moving from the comfort blanket of the Access query grid into writing your own SQL can feel cold and unhelpful. Our new course is for people with little or no SQL. SELECT, WHERE, wildcards, text and date functions, and where Transact SQL and Jet SQL part company.
Microsoft Project Training Courses now available!
Another addition to the catalogue: Microsoft Project training. No sitting in a room with a dozen people who all need something different. We find out what you are working on and build the course around that. Take a look at the contents, and tell us what is missing.
Crystal Reports training now available!
Crystal Reports is the leading tool for querying and reporting on databases, from Oracle to Excel, SQL to XML. We are delighted to launch new training in it, run by our Crystal guru Jason, author of Crystal Reports Formulas Explained. Functions and advanced techniques now, with a basics course shortly.
Microsoft Office 2010 upgrade training
We have taken literally hundreds of people from Office 2003 and earlier to Office 2010, and generated real enthusiasm along the way. That training is now available more widely. And as always, what you see on the website is only the start. Tell us what you need and we will build it.
Waverley Borough Council Microsoft Office Upgrade project
We are delighted to have worked with Waverley Borough Council to move every member of staff to Office 2007. Champions in each service area got in depth sessions, everyone else got a short briefing on what was changing and why, and a dedicated email address caught the Aargh moments.
Microsoft Project Training Courses now available!
Another addition to the catalogue: Microsoft Project training. No sitting in a room with a dozen people who all need something different. We find out what you are working on and build the course around that. Take a look at the contents, and tell us what is missing.
The IT Service
After months of planning, building, testing, rebuilding, rewriting and retesting, the new site is here. The old one had done its job, but it looked cluttered, was starting to look tired and was a real challenge to keep updated. This one should be easier for you and much easier for us.
Use Accents in Microsoft Word
We cannot teach you Spanish, but we can make typing it faster. Instead of hunting through the Symbol dialog every time, here's how to insert all the most common accents with a simple keyboard shortcut.
Another Outlook migration project!
Following the success of the Office 2000 to 2007 migration earlier this year, Waverley Borough Council have asked us to run the training for their move from Lotus Notes to Outlook. 400 staff over one weekend in October, with presentations, handouts, face to face training, floor walking and dedicated email support.
Creating Excel Macros (part 2)
In part one we created a simple macro and ran it from a workbook. Now we open it up: what your options actually mean when you create one, more interesting ways to trigger it, the types of procedure available, and a guided tour of the VBA editor that ALT and F11 drops you into.
Creating Excel Macros (part 1)
Creating a macro is a step towards a more powerful you. With macros you can do almost limitless things to customise, integrate and gain power from Microsoft Office – and more. Take the first step, and create a macro in just 60 seconds