Hiding table information

What's the best way to only show part of a table

[Mikefnz]

Hi all

I'm trying to get around having two separate files for my holiday home business. One Excel file with all the booking details, week booked, client details, deposit paid, etc and a separate public web page showing what weeks are booked and what is free.

I get headaches making sure that the two files are the same!

I prefer to only have one main data file. It's not really feasible to use the Excel information - ugly whichever method you try and use to transfer to my web page. Therefore I want to have an html file as the main data. Ideally I want to have some information that is hidden from viewing what I upload the page. What would you recommend as the best way to hide the non-public information, i.e., client's name, etc?

Many thanks

Mike F

[victor]

If you put it in the HTML, no matter now you hide it (white text or whatever), it will be readable by anyone viewing the source.

That would be very bad security, and probably break a pile of laws about privacy and data protection. And upset your customers.

You need a layer of software between the HTML and the database to extact and render only the details that belong on that page.

[Mikefnz]

Victor

Thanks for that. Ok it looks like the simplest way for me to meet my basic needs is to change from having an Excel file as my master data file to having an html file as my master. I can the then simply copy part of a table across with colour formatting to show how bookings have changed but keeping the personal and financial information in the master html file.

Some simple copying involved, I keep my nice tidy colour formatting (that shows availability) and I only really have one data file.

I know having some interactivity that automatically updates from a master Excel or Word document would be theoretically purer, but it's the formating rather than the data per se that I want to link to the public html file.

Regards

Mike F

[TheDoctor]

Mikefnz, welcome to webmasterWorld.

I don't know what your programming skills are like, but you should be able to write a short routine in VBA that would output the relevant cells from your Excel spreadsheet in HTML.

This is very definitely the best way for you to go, if at all possible.

[Mikefnz]

Doc

Thanks for that. The last serious programming I did was in 1977. I vividly recall taking the punch cards across campus and waiting 24 hours for the results!

I'll see if I can ferret out something that some kind sole has posted somewhere!

Regards

Mike F

[mifi601]

I use excel, save the files in txt (tab deliminated) and then use php to write the table.

a little php (which is free as opposed to VB) will be necessary, but is not that hard.

good luck

[TheDoctor]

Thanks for that. The last serious programming I did was in 1977. I vividly recall taking the punch cards across campus and waiting 24 hours for the results!

Wow! You had seriously fast turn-around time ;)

Just for the recdord, while VB is not free, VBA comes with Microsoft Office. If you have Excel you have VBA.

If you can remember any programming at all, that - and a bit of patience with yourself - will be enough, whether you go for the VBA or PHP route. An advantage of VBA, BTW, is that you will have the information about which fields to output and which not (you run the VBA from within your Excel spreadsheet).

[mifi601]

disadvantage of excel though that serious help only comes with 'pro' or whatever version ... and is not in the usual office package - or at least I think so.

BUT I would love to find out where I could get some got VB manuals ... for free :)