Ask Emmett: How many macro requests do you get?

In this edition of Ask Emmett, I answer the question: How often do you get requests to write custom macro codes from scratch? I actually get this question quite a bit. Apparently, many of you want to know how many emails I get per day and how many do I respond to.

I get requests every day for specific scripts or programs. When I get asked to write a custom code from scratch, I almost always ignore these emails (unless I already have a code written). I don’t have time to write custom solutions for everyone (for free). Conversely, I almost always reply when someone has tried to write the code themselves but has simply gotten stuck.

Lately, I’ve been receiving lots of emails asking for help – which is awesome! It means many of you are trying to apply what you’ve learned from my website or book to real world situations in order to increase your efficiency and productivity. However, I simply do not have the time to write code from scratch for each and every request. Maintaining this website is only something I do on the side for fun and in the future I have less free time than ever thanks to being a dad (it’s awesome but a lot of work too!).

Believe me, I want to help you as much as possible but I need you to help me out first. When asking me a question please give as much information as you can from the onset:

• What is the goal of your program?
• Will it run on only parts or on products too?
• What is the exact error message you are getting and on what line of code?
• What are the user inputs?
• What are the exact steps?

And most importantly, send me the code you already have. This is an absolute must! I need a starting point and you have to prove to me you at least tried to figure it out yourself. Trust me, I am much more likely to help you and get you a solution quickly if you give me the information I need to solve your problem from the very beginning. There will be less emails too!

And please post your question on the forum. It’s easier for me to track and others may have the same questions.
Sorry this post doesn’t contain any tips like I typically give but I promise we’ll get back to that next time!