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Welcome !
This is the website for Black Tor Consulting Ltd, we would like to offer you some help with your technology issues.
Mainly on this site we focus on Microsoft Excel formulas, pivots and the automation of workbooks via VBA.
pWe are also interested in graphic and website design.
Cross Browser Support
This site has been tested in all major browsers.
Compatible Browsers
- Internet Explorer
- Firefox
- Opera
- Chrome
- Safari
- What else ?
- Excel
Microsoft Excel 1997 to 2016/365
Excel is at its most basic a simple tool to provide results to its users with a minimum of fuss.
However it can provide so much more for you than a simple sheet full of numbers with totals at the bottom.
Excel 2016/365 has over 400 different functions, most of which can be used in conjunction with others to created complicated equations.
Learn to write your own functions so that you can do new things such as count the number of cells with a specified background colour.
More Formulas
Misc
Support of Excel 2007-2010
Microsoft will ended its support of Office 2007 on the 10th of October 2017, and support for Office 2010 will end on the 13thsup> of October 2020
At this time all security upgrades for this version will cease. The improvements made to recent versions of Excel are considerable and will greatly improve your reporting process.
If you are still running Office 2007 (or Office 2010) after support ends you should ensure that you migrate to ensure you receive security upgrades.
Users often find that they are disorientated when they first move to new versions of Excel. However in only 2-3 weeks you will be working faster and more efficiently.
- VBA
Visual Basic Application
Essentially VBA is a way within Microsoft Office applications to automate almost any process you can think of.
Use VBA to... create and update charts and pivots to give daily management information statistics (MIS) without the effort.
Use VBA to... email multiple staff members and clients with updates task lists, progress reports or invoices.
Some resources can be found on the Downloads page.
Add-in version number:1.1Helpful Code
More Examples
Helpful Sites
What is VBA?
VBA is an abbreviation for Visual Basic for Applications. It is the language used by office applications such as Access & Excel to perform tasks for you.
Atlhough VBA is a computer language you do not need to sit down with a book to use it. Using the recorder on the Developer tab you can create your own macros.
Each section of code which starts and finishes is called a macro or subroutine. Within the VBA Editor (Alt + F11 to show it).
Although these recorded macro's will not adjust to changes to your workbook or data they are an excellent place to start if you want to learn code.
- Webdesign
Design and Maintenance
How you present your self or your company on the world wide web is crucial and comprises a number of factors.
Compatibility: does your site need to be compatible with mobiles, tables, laptops and desk tops?
Images/Colour: do you have a range of images to use or colour palette planned for your site, what do those colours mean?
Media: do you expect users to print your web pages? If so they need to be designed with colours that are printer friendly.
Some Links
Examples
Other Stuff
Bespoke Design
We do not attempt to compete with the multitude of agencies that will offer to produce a template based site for you from a stock layout and palette.
At Black Tor we believe in a bespoke design for each site which is tailored to fit the customers requirements and their requests, building your site together.
We will discuss with you the best colours and font to use and also any images that need to be included in the design that suites you.
Establishing a direct contact with our customers is important to us so that we can be a real source of help and advise as we develop and maintain your website.
- Other Stuff
Pages of Interest
Book Covers We Have Created
Ghosts from Afghanistan: A complex cover combining eight different images each layered onto a smokey background. Additional images were wrapped around the mannequin to give an interesting perspective.
Read more...The Escape of Jack the Ripper: This cover has a more modern appearance. Colour washes and again multiple images were required to build the final cover image which can be seen here.
Read more... - Contact
Contact Us
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Welcome to BLACK TOR consulting
- On This Page...
- Intro
- Site Contents
Why A Site map?

It is another way of laying out what is on the site and some people prefer it as a way to understand what is on the site. Brief descriptions of what is on each page will follow.
Site Contents
Our site is made of a number of pages (and it is growing) so below is a list of the pages we currently maintain on the site:
- Home
- Excel
- VBA
- Design
- Us
- Terms
- Site map