Excel's array formula feature is a very powerful tool that uses a single formula to perform multiple calculations for a group of cells.   Array formulas are used commonly on all Affinity sheets for calculated exhibits.   To apply an array formula, you start by selecting/highlighting the group of cells that will contain the formula.   Then, create the formula just as you would normally for a single cell.   Once you have completed your formula, instead of pressing the ENTER key, use the CTRL+SHIFT + ENTER keys simultaneously.   Excel will automatically insert the formula between the brackets { } and the selected cells now contain the same formula.   The formula cannot be changed for individual cells that are part of the array.   To change the formula, you must change the entire array.

This problem is most likely related to the size of the information contained within the Header or Footer.  This is an Excel limitation.  In Excel 97, the header is limited to 255 characters.  This 255-character limit is not static however.  If the formatting of the text contained within your header is complex, the limit is even less than 255 characters.  Therefore, be mindful of the size of the text contained within the Header or Footer.  If it is greater than 255 characters or contains complex formatting, you may have to shorten the text or simplify the formatting.

Yes.  If you would like to change the "Project" or "Line" headers at the top of every Affinity Template, go to the template on which you'd like to change the name and press the F5 key.  This bring up the Go To box, which will allow you to go directly to range names on your sheet.  Type in the name "Line" and press Enter.  Excel will take you to the cell that contains the range name "Line."  At this point, type in the new name that you would like to appear in the header and click enter.  Finally press F9 and the new "Line" name will be updated in the header.

If you have multiple sheets, you can have all of the "Line" range names reference the "Line" range name on the first tab.  Go to each subsequent sheet and once again press F5.  In the resulting Go To box, type in the name "Line."  Excel will take you to the cell that contains the range name "Line."  Enter an equal (=) sign and click on the first tab of your multiple-tab workbook and then type in the name "line."  Next, press Enter and finally the F9 key.  If desired, repeat this process for each tab of you multiple tab workbook.

Yes.  Even if the file to which you would like to append the template(s) is already open, go the  Templates tab in the Affinity select the template(s) to add.  Then, go to the Models tab and select the file to which you would like to append the additional template(s).  Next, type in the Project and Line information.  Finally, verify that the Append radio button is selected and click on the Append button. 

Once the new template(s) have been added, go to the Parameters tab.  The tabs of your Affinity file listed in alphabetical order.  If you would like to copy the attributes and averages from one of the original templates, the new template must appear below one of the original templates in the alphabetical list of the Parameters tab.  If the new template is the first item on the list, go to Excel, and rename this sheet accordingly by double-clicking on the sheet name.  Once the tab name has been changed in Excel, return to the Parameters tab in Affinity and press F5 to refresh the list.

Now, highlight one of the original templates that appears above the template(s) you would like to edit.  Then while holding the Control key, also highlight the new template(s) you added.  Next, double-click on Attributes.  Without making any changes to the tab, click on the OK button.  You will now see a check mark above Attributes.  Repeat the process for the Averages.  Finally, you can click on the Apply button.  All of the sheets will now share the same attributes and averages as the original sheet.

Professional Affinity interpolates with four different formulas.  The PWFullInterpolation function defaults to the Spline interpolation, but you can easily change to a Polynomial, Rational or Inverse Power interpolation.  The PWFullInterpolation function appears as follows: PWFullInterpolation(Type, known_X, known_Y, interp_X).  The "Type" argument defines the interpolation choice. The function defaults to the value "1," representing the Spline interpolation.  To change the interpolation, all you need to do is change the value of the first argument. ( In the case of the Interim LDM template, the PWFullInterpolation function is used twice in the same formula so make sure you change the interpolation type value in both instances.)  The argument values for each of the interpolations are as follows: Polynomial = 2, Rational = 3 and Inverse Power = 5.  For more information on this function, its arguments or any Affinity function, please refer to the online Affinity Reference Manual.

The ability to create Print Views allows you to store print setup information about exhibits.  Once completed, one or many print views may be selected and saved as defaults.  Affinity has two menu options that allow the user to print the default view of the active sheet (Print Default view) or all sheets in all open files (Print Defaults).  Correctly developed spreadsheets can have the printing of reports automated to the level of just a couple of mouse clicks.

Edit Affinity's views after they are created and saved.  This gives you the ability to go back and modify such things as which exhibits are printed, sheet orientation (portrait or landscape), or modify the headers and footers. 

You can also have dynamic headers and footers by placing range name references in the header and footer areas.  From the Print Exhibits menu option, first select the exhibits to print.  Next, deselect the "Use System Default Header and Footer" check box.  Then click on the "Page Setup" button.  Finally click on the Header/Footer tab and choose either the custom header or custom footer buttons.  The following stipulations apply:

1. The range name must be surrounded by the less than ("<") and greater than (">") signs.  This tells Affinity to interpret a range name.

2. The range name must also be defined on the same sheet as the exhibits being printed.   The cell may contain a reference to another sheet or file, but if the range name does not exist on the sheet in question, it will not be properly interpreted by Affinity.  This feature adds greatly to the power of print views to act as a dynamic reporting tool.

3. Once a range name on the header or footer has been customized, you must select the Make view" option and give the view a name before print previewing. 

All changes made to any print options are sheet specific and must be save in Excel in order to retain them.

Here is a summary of Affinity's Print functions:

―   Print Exhibits - Create and make/name a view.  Select or print a single exhibit or group of exhibits.

―   Print/Edit Views - Create a new view.  Edit or delete a view.   Save as, add to, or show the default.

―   Print All Views - Print any defined views from any or all Affinity files currently loaded in Excel.

―   Print Default Views - Prints the default of the active Affinity tab only.

―   Print Defaults - Prints all defaults in all loaded Affinity files.

Go to the Templates tab and select File | Preferences.  Within the "Mode" box, select the "Designer" radio button.  This will put you into the Designer's Toolkit.  From here, you will have access to the Exhibits tab.

You can change the names on each of these tabs, one at a time, through the Data Types tab of the Affinity Graphical User Interface. On the other hand, you can save time by changing the names within Excel. Within Excel, you can actually set up your multiple-tab workbook so that all tabs will reference the range name(s) on one tab, so that you only have to change the name(s) in one location.

For example, if you wanted to change the Project name on each tab, perform the following:

1. In Excel, go to the first tab in your Affinity workbook and press the F5 key. This will take you to the Go To window.
2. Type the word "Project" and press enter. This will find the range name "Project" on your Affinity tab. You will notice that "Project" is listed in the upper left-hand corner of Excel.
3. Within the formula bar, you will have a name such as "ABC Company". Change this name to whatever you would like.
4. Select the next tab in your workbook.
5. Once again press the F5 key.
6. Type the word "Project" and press enter.
7. This time, instead of changing the name, click on the name that appears in the formula bar and delete it.
8. Type "=" and click on the first tab (on the bottom of the Excel screen) in the workbook (the tab in which you changed the name). By clicking on the tab, you will notice that Excel will put the first tab's name with an exclamation point (!) at the end of it in the formula bar.
9. While the formula is still active, type in the word "Project" and then press enter.

By completing this process, the text in the range name on the first tab will automatically appear within the range name on the second tab. Repeat this process for each tab and each of the other fields (Line and Method) if necessary.

Yes. You can use the PWTrimZeros function.  All you need to do is set up an exhibit with the following formula array {=PWTrimZeros(TriangleRangeName)}, substituting "TriangleRangeName" with the range name of the triangle.  There are many other functions, called "PW" Functions in Affinity that can help simplify your work.  These 'PW" Functions can be accessed by selecting the function (fx) button in Excel.  You can then select the Affinity function you would like to view from the Function Category list.  The Affinity/PW functions will be listed on the right, with the argument for each function as well as a description of each function shown at the bottom of the window.  If you would like to view some examples of the more commonly used Affinity/PW functions, you can download an Excel spreadsheet named PWfx.xls from our Support | Downloads | Affinity page.

No.  A pivot table is a static set of information gathered at a single point in time.  Therefore, if you make any modifications to the source data, they will not be reflected in a pivot table.  If the source data has changed, you should create a new pivot table. 

Windows NT does not allow programs to automatically communicate with certain components of the machine.  Special drivers are required to allow Professional Affinity to communicate with the ports of the machine and determine if the Sentinel hardware key is in place.

We have an installation diskette available to install these drivers.  Any client upgrading to Windows NT should contact us and we will forward the necessary diskette.

When you are working with an Affinity file and select the File | Exit option in Excel, the first thing that Excel does (even before it gives you a chance to cancel the operation) is shut down any add-ins.  Pcres.xla, which contains some of Affinity's functionality, is an add-in to Excel.  Once Pcres.xla is shut down, Affinity sheets cannot access its actuarial functions.  Don't panic at this point!  To remedy the problem, save the file(s) that are open in Excel and then shut down Excel. 

Next, go to the Models tab in Affinity, and find and open the file(s) you were working on.  Alternately, you can select File Activate | Excel from the Affinity interface, and then manually open your file(s) through Excel's File | Open option.

This is a common finding in Excel 97.  Don't get frustrated; just try pressing Ctrl+Alt+F9.  This will essentially "force" a recalculation of all sheets.  Alternately, there is a recalculation patch included in Microsoft's Office 97 Service Release 2b.  The Office 97 SR-2b was re-released on October 23, 1998 and can be downloaded from Microsoft's web site.  Go to http://office.microsoft.com/ and search for Office 97 SR-2b (we can't give an exact URL, because Microsoft constantly moves things around...).

No. If you are running a project in Step Mode and you change one or more of your selections, Corporate Affinity will not update these values throughout the model unless you click the F9 key to recalculate the open workbook(s) before continuing with the next permutation. This way, Corporate Affinity will pick up on the change(s) or entry(ies) you have made on the worksheet, and related formulas will also be updated.