Category: Google Suite

Skewed Random Range in Google Sheets (RANDBETWEEN)

Google Sheets: RANDBETWEEN

The Standard RANDBETWEEN

We can achieve a random range of numbers in Google Sheets by using the RANDBETWEEN formula. The formula is quite simple to use. Just add your start range and your end range:

=RANDBETWEEN(start range, end range)

For example, if I want to get a random number between zero(o) and 60 I would do the following:

=RANDBETWEEN(0,60)

The result will provide a whole random number somewhere between these two and including these numbers.

If I were to repeat this formula over a reasonable sample, say 300 times, we should see a fairly even spread of numbers occurring a roughly the same frequency, just like in the graph below:

But what if we wanted to have fewer random numbers in our list at the lower or upper end or on both ends?

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How do I Randomly Assign People to a Group Without Doubling Up on the Same Group in Google Sheets

Google Sheets: TRANSPOSE, arrays, Randomize Ranges

Random Combinations Without Repetition Using Arrays, TRANSPOSE and Randomize Ranges

Say you have a list of  30 people and a 30 list of groups. After every half hour for six hours the people must change to another group, but they cannot go back to a group they have already been in.

How can we schedule 12 sessions where every person can randomly go to another group without going to the same group twice?

This is pretty much the same issue I face when scheduling my teachers to proctor exams randomly each quarter for different classes. The rules I need to follow are:

  1. No teacher should proctor the same class twice.
  2. Assignment to proctor a class should seem random.
  3. The teacher that teaches the class cannot proctor their own class.
  4. Each week has an exam over the term. The term runs for 8 weeks plus a final requiring a total of 9 proctor sessions.

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VLOOKUP Left in Google Sheets with INDEX and MATCH

Google Sheets: INDEX, MATCH, VLOOKUP

Ever been faced with an issue where you can’t move your column to the far left in order to Vlookup? I just came across this issue recently.

The Problem – Vlookup

I needed to add teachers to a list of students who had to move into their class for two tests because their teacher (Hanna John-Kamen) would be absent on the test day.

Sheet: Hannah 302-15. Students split into other class sections.
Sheet: Hannah 302-15. Students split into other class sections.

 

Essentially, I was splitting the students into the remainder of the classes for that session time. In this student list sheet (Hannah 302-15) I had allocated the students new rooms and each room had a new teacher.

I couldn’t change the teacher proctors test list sheet ( Q2U1 Teacher) because the teachers who reference it would get confused. Unfortunately, the teacher’s name I wanted was in column B and the reference (The Speaking classroom) was in column I.

 

Just like Zoolander, I can't Vlookup Left
Sheet: Q2U1 Teacher. Just like Zoolander, I can’t Vlookup Left

I need to put my first Vlookup in M2 of the Hannah 302-15 sheet.  If I tried to Vlookup it might look like this: =VLOOKUP(L2,'Q2U1 Teacher'!B:I,-8, False). Where L2 is the class I am searching for in the Hannah 302-15 sheet. ‘Q2U1 Teacher’!B:I is the range where B is the name column and I is the Class number. –8 is clearly wrong. Vlookup will not accept a negative reference (It’s stupid, I know). False: because the list was not sorted. 

So what to do.

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Spacer – Free Google Add-On That Spaces Rows by Column Category (Updated January 2022)

What is Spacer?

Spacer is a Free Google Add-On that creates row spaces by column categories.

I use it as an academic administrator to create a space or two at the end of each class section to create a visual break between sections. This makes it easier for my staff to quickly identify class sections.

You can find Spacer at the Google Workspace Marketplace.


Google Workspace Marketplace badge

What can Spacer do?

Spacer can:

  • Automatically detect the width of your columns.
  • Allow you to select a column with the categories you want to use to space your data.
  • Set the height of your header – so that is not spaced too.
  • Set the thickness of your spaces.
  • Set the color of your spaces
  • Set starting and end position of your color filler.

How to use Spacer

After Installation

Before You Start:

  1. Before you start, create a Google Sheet with the data in it you want to space.
  2. Select All the data.
  3. Go to the menu bar and select: Data>Sort Range...   and select the column you want to sort by. This will be the column you will use to space your data by the categories in that column.
Running Spacer:

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How do I lock certain cells in a formula in Google Sheets?

You know, I’m pretty confident in my use of Google Sheets. I use a lot of its advanced features and formulas in my daily work.

But one thing was bugging me. Every time I created a formula and then grabbed and dragged (or double-clicked) that little box in the bottom right of the cell to have it repeat, the cells would change.

The little square down the bottom of the cell

This normally is great, because it moves by a cell each time and makes my life easier.

What if I want to keep a certain cell constant in a formula?

Enter the Absolute Reference.

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