How to Make a File Downloadable from Your Website

Sample HTML CodeLinking to a Downloadable File

Making a file downloadable on your website may seem like a daunting task, but actually can be done fairly easily by using some very basic HTML codes. Read on to find out how.

Sample HTML Code

HTML Code for File Download

Linking to a Downloadable File

1. 
   1
   Upload the file to your server. This can be done by FTP, or by another method. Consult your hosting company for information how to do this. The file to the same folder the HTML-file which links to it is in. Doing this, it will be easier to link to the file.
2. 
   2
   Open the webpage you want the filename to appear on in a basic text editor, such as notepad.
3. 
   3
   Choose a place where you want the download link to be. You have two options:
   • A word on which people can click to download --> go to step 4
   • An image on which people can click to download --> go to step 6
4. 
   4
   Enter the following code on the place you want the link to be:''<a href="yourfile.xxx" target="_blank">'''word'''</a>''
5. 
   5
   Change the yourfile.xxx to the name of the file you want to link to, and the word to the word you want your visitors to click on. --> go to step 8
6. 
   6
   Enter the following code on the place you want the link to be:<a href="yourfile.xxx" target="_blank"><img src="yourimage.xxx" alt="title_of_image" /></a>
7. 
   7
   If you don't want that annoying box around an image then type this <a href="yourfile.xxx" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="yourimg.xxx" alt="yourimage"></a>
8. 
   8
   Change the yourfile.xxx to the name of the file you want to link to, theyourimage.xxx to the image (which is also uploaded in the same folder your HTML file is in) you want your visitors to click on, and the title_of_image with the word you want the visitors to see when keep their pointer over the image for some time.
9. 
   9
   Finished! Save the HTML file, upload it to your server and it should all work fine!

Tips

• HTML is not as complex as you think. Each link points only to a specific file that your browser handles on a file type basis. For example, a link pointing to an HTML document will open in your default web browser, while linking to a PDF file will cause the downloaded file to open the default PDF viewer (such as Adobe Acrobat Reader or CoolPDF Reader
  )

How to Create an Excel Financial Calculator

A financial calculator can be expensive for students. It is not intuitive to use and unless they become investment bankers or Realtors, most students will never use it after finishing the financial course. Fortunately, it is very easy to create a financial calculator for free if you have Excel on your computer. An Excel calculator can do much more than a dedicated financial calculator.

Steps

1. 
   1
   Install Microsoft Excel on your computer, if you don't already have it.
2. 
   2
   To make the learning process simple, click the link at the bottom of this page to download an already created financial calculator. [Tip: use Shift-Click to open it in a new window.]
3. 
   3
   It is assumed that you already have some knowledge of the 5 parameters often used in finance - FV (future value), PV (present value), Rate, Nper (number of periods) and PMT (payment). The function of this calculator is, given any 4 of these parameters, to calculate the 5th parameter.
4. 
   4
   Try the sample calculator for calculating FV, future value. Suppose you want the result of FV to be shown in field B17. Input the rate in B12, the number of periods in B13, the payment in B14, the present value in B15 and B16 for Type. In Excel, the Type is either 0 or 1. Type is 0 if payments are due at the beginning of the period. Type is 1 if payments are due at the end of the period. [Refer to the sample calculator you just opened in step 1].
5. 
   5
   To make your own financial calculator in Excel, start a new file or sheet and label fields for Rate, Nper, PMT, PV, and Type, and add some sample values.Choose the cell where you want the result for FV to go. Click Insert, then Function (or f_x on the task bar) to open Insert Function window. In the left column, select "Financial". This will give you all the functions in financial calculation.
6. 
   6
   Double-click FV. A Function Arguments window will open. Fill in the field numbers according to how you labeled them. If you like, while you're in this window, click the ? button for help and read the details of how this Excel function works.
7. 
   7
   Click Ok and congratulations, your financial calculator for FV is created. If you fill in the value of Rate, Nper, PMT, and PV, Field B17 will show the FV.
8. 
   8
   Continue in this way to make a Rate calculator, Nper calculator, and so on.When you are done, you will have a very intuitive financial calculator, and you will learn better finance than if you had bought a fancy financial calculator. Have fun!

Tips

• You may want to protect the fields have has formulas built in so that you do not accidentally delete the formulas. To protect a field, click in that cell, then right click and choose Format Cells. In the Protection tab, check Locked.
• You can also make Excel calculators to make financial calculations in the case of an uneven payment. The sample calculator has examples of some additional functions. Your professor may be surprised at how fast you can make these calculations.
• Enter money paid out, like loan payments, in negative numbers. Enter money taken in, like interest dividends, in positive numbers.

Warnings

• When using this calculator, be sure your units are consistent. That is, if you are using periods in months, make sure that you are using a monthly interest rate, too. To get monthly interest rate, divide the yearly interest rate by 12.
• You may not have access to Excel during a test or quiz. If you are taking a class, find out ahead of time if you will need a financial calculator for tests and see if you can borrow one from a friend. Learn how to use it in advance.

How to Recover a Corrupt Excel File

Repair MethodHTML MethodCopy Data MethodXML Method (Excel 2003)Other Possibilities

There are many ways to work around Excel file corruptions. To recover a corrupt Excel file, try one of the methods below.

EditMethod 1 of 5: Repair Method

1. 
   1
   Open a blank Excel workbook.
2. 
   2
   Go to Open.
3. 
   3
   Find the desired file and choose Open and Repair. This option is in the drop-down list associated with the Open button.
   • If Excel cannot open the file, choose Extract Data.
4. 
   4
   Confirm by clicking Yes. If Excel warns you that the file caused a serious error the last time it was opened, agree to continue opening it.

EditMethod 2 of 5: HTML Method

1. 
   1
   If you can, open the file.
2. 
   2
   Go to Save As. If necessary, choose Other Formats from the quick list of options.
3. 
   3
   Select Web Page from the possible file formats.
4. 
   4
   Make sure Entire Workbook is selected and hit Save.
   • Note that certain elements of the formatting may be lost. Click Yes to confirm orHelp for more information.
5. 
   5
   Locate the saved file.
6. 
   6
   Right-click the file and choose Open With > Microsoft Office Excel.
7. 
   7
   Go to Save As and choose an Excel format from the drop-down list. For example, Microsoft Excel 97-2003 produces the classic .xls format, whereas Excel Workbook produces the newer .xlsx format.
8. 
   8
   Change the title to prevent confusing it with / saving over the (corrupted) original.
9. 
   9
   Hit Save.

EditMethod 3 of 5: Copy Data Method

1. 
   1
   If you can, open the file.
2. 
   2
   Right-click a sheet tab and choose Select All Sheets.
3. 
   3
   Right-click a sheet tab and choose Move or Copy.
4. 
   4
   Choose New Book and check the Create a Copy box.
5. 
   5
   Hit OK.

EditMethod 4 of 5: XML Method (Excel 2003)

1. 
   1
   If you can, open the file.
2. 
   2
   Go to Save As.
3. 
   3
   Select XML Spreadsheet from the list of possible formats and hit Save.
4. 
   4
   Close the file and reopen in Excel.
5. 
   5
   Go to Save As.
6. 
   6
   Select an excel format (ex. Microsoft Excel 97-2003 or Excel Workbook) from the drop-down list.
7. 
   7
   Change the title to prevent saving over the (corrupted) original.
8. 
   8
   Hit Save.

EditMethod 5 of 5: Other Possibilities

1. 
   1
   Close Excel, re-open it, and try to open the file again.
2. 
   2
   If this doesn't work, restart the computer, open up Excel and try to open the file again.
3. 
   3
   If this doesn't work, delete the contents of your c:\windows\temp directory then reboot. Try again.
4. 
   4
   If this doesn't work, open the file using OpenOffice. This is free, Microsoft-compatible software that may be able to work around the corruption.
5. 
   5
   If this doesn't work, open Excel in Safe Mode. This will disable VBA and Add-ins.
   • Restart the computer in Safe Mode.
   • Click on Start then Run then enter the actual path to the executable file. Depending on your version of Windows, this may be C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\excel.exe, C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office11\excel.exe, or something similar. (For Excel 2002, Office XP, click cancel if the MS Office Installer starts; Excel in safe mode will still start)].
   • Try to open the file.
6. 
   6
   If this doesn't work, be sure to scan the file for viruses. Make sure your macro heuristics scanning option is turned on. Ask your IT administrator how to do this.
7. 
   7
   If you don't find a virus, copy the file and rename the copy with a .doc extension. (This option may not be available on newer systems.) Try to open it as Word document.
8. 
   8
   If this doesn't work, try to determine if the file is unrecoverable on the disk.Open the file in Explorer and try to copy it to another location.
   • If you can copy the file to another location, skip to step 9. If not, the actual sectors on the disk may be corrupted.
   • If the data is valuable enough to you, seek professional services as a damaged hard disk file recovery is not for the faint at heart.
9. 
   9
   If this doesn't work, try to open the file in a more recent version of Excel. As the version numbers increase, their ability to recover corrupt files increases. If this doesn't work or such a version of Excel is not available, see if some other spreadsheet application is and try to open the file in that program.
10. 
    10
    If this doesn't work, copy the file and rename the copy with a .txt extension. (This option may not be available on newer systems.) Try opening the file, and if Windows says it can't open it Notepad but will open it in WordPad, agree. Be sure to turn on word wrapping in either program; in Notepad it's under the Format menu, and in WordPad it's under the View menu (choose Options, choose the Text Tab, and choose Wrap to Window). Next, look for where the data stops, which should be followed by a bunch of spacer characters. These actually tell Excel where cells, columns, and rows are. When you find your last bit of data, delete the rest of the file. After this, rename it back to an .xls extension, try opening the file in the oldest version of a spreadsheet you can find. You may be able to recover your data in some semblance of a spreadsheet.

Edit

• If you know someone with a Mac, save the file to a thumb drive. View the contents of the thumb drive with Finder. You will be able to see the file extension .xlsx. Change the file extension to .xls. Open the file. Perform a Save As and save the file with the .xlsx extension.
• You would be well advised to take a look at Microsoft's articles on the subject first even if you find them confusing. If you have Excel 2002 and 2003, use this guide; for newer versions, use this guide.