Comments on: Alternating Columns

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 19:52:00 +0000

This is the simplest, but less intuitive:

lStartCol = 1 - lStartCol

Noodle it in your head a few times to see that it works. Because it doesn't jump out at you, this calls for a comment like "toggle between columns 0 and 1?.

And, yes, I vote for a one-line solution (with comments) over a five-liner. Unless you're paid by the line

I remember helping a junior programmer who had taken over some of my code. He double-spaced the comments and added all sorts of useless blank lines. Some times you could only see two lines of code on a screen! Drove me nuts.

Dave

By: Dick Kusleika

Dick Kusleika — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 17:00:00 +0000

Bill: I agree. There’s just something inside me that hates to “waste” five lines when one will do the job. I can’t seem to remember that VBA line are free.

By: Dick Kusleika

Dick Kusleika — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 17:00:00 +0000

Andy: Yes, that should have been .Offset(0,lStartCol)

By: Billkamm

Billkamm — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 14:12:00 +0000

In all honesty Dick the "cop out" would probably be the best, because it is easier to understand to someone else who might be reading your code.

I would take readability of ingenuity anyday and for those who say "no one else will ever see this code" have to remember that you one day may wish to go back and look at your code and be confused.

By: Andy Pope

Andy Pope — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 09:56:00 +0000

Hi Dick,

Is that not a Row offset you have used?

rCell.Offset(lStartCol, 0).Value = "Some number"

Here is an example you your newly discovered NOT knowledge.
Sub AlternateCols()

Dim rCell As Range
Dim lngCol As Long

' odd row start
For Each rCell In Range("A1:A10?)
lngCol = Not lngCol
rCell.Offset(0, 1 + lngCol) = rCell.Address
Next

' even row start
lngCol = 0
For Each rCell In Range("A20:A30?)
lngCol = Not lngCol
rCell.Offset(0, 1 + lngCol) = rCell.Address
Next

End Sub