Sql Server Error 3154

I created a new database today and was wanting to restore this new database from another exisitng database using the restore option available in the wizard.

But I got the 3154 error as below.

So I had to restore to the restore database command in the SSMS. So here is the first option I tried

restore database databasename
from disk 'filepath.bak'
with replace

but this gave an error because the database and log files were in use for the exisitng database and had to use the with move command as follows.

restore database databasename
from disk 'filepath.bak'
with move data file to 'file path',
move log file to 'file path',
replace



The database was restored successfully.

Workbook is larger than the maximum workbook size

I use sharepoint 2010 to display the data analysis tool I have created in excel 2010 to manage the Microsoft licenses as well as to utilise the excel 2010 capabilities of slicers and dicers. This has been going pretty smoothly until yesterday when I stumbled with this error below.

 

"Workbook is larger than the maximum workbook size"

 

So I had to go through the Excel web services properties on the sharepoint server and increase the maximum file size.

 

 

Here are the steps that I followed.

 

 

• Logged into the Central Administration of the Sharepoint on the relevant server.
• Clicked on Application Management
• Clicked on Manage Service Applications
• Cicked on Excel Service Application which is a hyperlink in blue
• Clicked on Trusted File Locations and clicked on the relevant link as shown below

• Under the file size properties I have changed from 10 to 15 as shown below. Once this is done the page needs to be reloaded and the excel web part works beautifully.

 

Scroll Lock problems in Excel

Yesterday I had this problem in moving between the cells within excel. This problem usually occurs if the scroll lock is on. I tried to find the scroll lock button on my keyboard but it was not there. So I got the idea of using the On screen keyboard function to diable the scroll lock.

So I clciked on Start button -- All Programs -- Accessories -- Ease of Access --On Screen keyboard.

The following screen appears and I click on the scroll lock as shown below.



This same funcationlity can be used when we use remote desktop to access the keyboard of the remote computer.

Remove the compatibility mode from excel files

As you all know Excel 2007 has lot more features compared to Excel 2003. The extension with which the excel files are saved alos differs based on the version of excel.

For excel 2003 the file is saved as .xls and for Excel 2007 the file is saved as .xlsx

The other day I realised that when I opened a file in Excel 2007 all the features of Excel 2007 are not available for use.

So when I tried to investigate what was happening I found that the file was saved as .xls. So I saved the file as excel 2007 workbook and tried to use all the features.

I was not able to use all the features until I reopened the file in excel 2007.

I thought I would mention this tip here for everyone's benefit.

Resolving #NUM error in excel

I was using excel to display data from a cube. I tried to do a caluclated cell in excel to display number of months between two dates. Here is the formula I used to do this.

=Datedif(H1,G5,"m")

But I received an error -- #NUM

Then I again looked at the dates entered. To make sure that the datedif function works you need to give the earlier date as the first parameter and the later date as the second parameter to avoid the #NUM error. You also need to ensure that the dates are in the correct format otherwise you will receive a #VALUE error.

So to avoid the #NUM error I changed the formula to

=Datedif(G5,H1,"m"). This retunrs the difference between the two dates in months.

24 Hours of PASS --March 2012 Registrations Open

This morning I recieved the email of 24 hrs of PASS registration. Below are the details.

Nonstop SQL Server Training Don't miss the best 24 hours of free, online SQL Server training in the industry with 24 Hours of PASS: SQL Server 2012 March 21, featuring closed captioning in 15 languages. Join us for an exceptional lineup of the world's top SQL Server and BI experts, who will be presenting 24 back-to-back technical webcasts with a special focus on SQL Server 2012.

Go ahead and register and benefit from these sessions.

Have you heard of Prezi?

Late last year one of my colleagues Mark Crosby has introduced the Prezi tool in our company to do presentations. Prezi is a presentation software that can be used in creating more visual presentations. It is different to the traditional powerpoint software as it has a Zooming user interface and uses a vector based illustration and text which creates big visual impact.

The main differences between PRezi and Powerpoint that I have found are as follows:

The first difference I found is that Prezi is an online application that does not need any installation of software whereas Powerpoint is an installed software application.

Prezi is more like a canvas based presentation whereas powerpoint is more based on slides that are arranged in a sequntial manner.

In Prezi you cannot just copy and paste pictures like we do in powerpoint. The pictures need to be uploaded and then included in the Prezi creations.

In Prezi you can use only flash objects and embed youtube videos whereas in powerpoint you can include a wide variety of video formats.

You cannot print the sides as a handout in Prezi like you do in powerpoint.

There are many other differences, strengths and weaknesses in both the tools and for now I will start using PRezi more and more and see as it is easy to learn.

Let me know what your thoughts are