Most of the emails can be answered by pointing the person to Google, or to the Microsoft newsgroups. A few questions are asked politely and clearly, and a short answer will suffice, so I answer those.

If people contact me about one of my pivot table books, I try to help them. They’ve invested in me, and I want to help them get the most from that investment.

Today, a reader asked about the Report Filters in one of the examples in my Beginning Pivot Tables book. He told me which book he had, mentioned the chapter and page number, and asked the question very clearly. Oh, and he spelled both my first and last names correctly!

Now that’s how you get help, as soon as possible. I’ll have to remember to do those things myself, if I ever run into problems with someone else’s material.

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• Patrick O’Beirne of Systems Modelling Ltd
• Jan Karel Pieterse, of JKP Application Development Services:
• Charley Kyd of ExcelUser, Inc.
• John Walkenbach of J-Walk & Associates, Inc.
• Jon Peltier, of Peltier Technical Services:
• Chandoo of Pointy Haired Dilbert
• Matt Kennedy of Apress

Ken Puls has also announced an Excel giveaway today, for WinAutomation licences. You can read the details in his blog article: WinAutomation