Sudoku Assistant Files

Getting Started

RedNectar's Sudoku Assistant iis a set of Excel sheets and Macros that run on a Windows PC. Other versions of Excel either don't support Macros or don't support Active-X controls that are used in the spreadsheet.

Installation

Once you have downloaded the latest version of SudokuAssistant.xlsb you'll need to Unblock the file before you can use it.

Unblocking the SudokuAssistant.xlsb spreadsheet

• If the Spreadsheet file is opened, close it
• In a file explorer window, locate the file where you've saved it after downloading
• Right-click on the file and choose Properties
• Click the checkbox to Unblock the file and click OK
  
• Open the spreadsheet again
• You are likely to see a Security Warning - like this one:
  
• Click on Enable Content

You should now be able to enjoy using the Sudoku Assistant to help you spot those all important patterns in Sudoku and solve puzzles faster

What happens if I ignore the Unblocking the SudokuAssistant.xlsb spreadsheet instructions?

If you try to open the file BEFORE Unblocking the SudokuAssistant.xlsb spreadsheet you'll see a message about Protected View,

But even if you click on the Enable Editing button, you'' see a message announcing a Security Risk, like this one:

At this stage you need to close the spreadsheet and follow the Unblocking instructions above.

Generating Puzzles

V5.4 introduced the option of Generating a puzzle from the puzzle page. This requires:

1. Internet access - the puzzles are generated using https://you-do-sudoku-api.vercel.app/api
2. Enabling Microsoft Scripting Runtime from VBA - from the Visual Basic UI, click Tools > References... and find the option

• Note: Develper options need to be enabled to access the Visual Basic UI - this can be done by navigating to File > Options > Customise Ribbon, and under the Main Tabs, make sure the Developer Check Box is selected.

Modifying the Spreadsheet

All sheets are password protected with the password RedNectarRocks

Alternatively, you can run the macro UnprotectSheet for any given sheet. There is also a macro called UnlockAllSheets which is useful to run when jumping into development mode.

Known Problems

When using multiple monitors, dialogue boxes and forms may not appear on the screen you expect them to. This is an Excel problem.