As a knowledge worker, it is not uncommon to find yourself at a client with the tools that you are provided, and not the tools that you might want.  You will, however, always find Microsoft Excel.  For this reason, Excel is often used beyond its intended purpose; as a forms tool, a reporting tool, a database or an application front-end. 

Although your first course of action should probably be to obtain the right tool, sometimes you just have to “make it work.”  This is the first in a series of Excel tips and tricks for non-programmers that will help you to understand and perform common programming tasks.