Version 2.0.4

An EXCEL add-in, called CueSheetMaker, can be used to make cue sheets from files saved from any of several mapping programs: MapSource, DeLorme, TOPO!, and GMapToGPX files derived from Pedometer. Unfortunately, CueSheetMaker will not run on MacIntoshes.

Set up and usage:

Download the program by clicking on the following link: CueSheetMaker. The downloaded file is a self extracting zip file: simply click on it to extract the files. The extraction program will open a save-as dialog which you can use to place the files wherever you like. If EXCEL is running, I suggest that you close it now.

If you are updating, simply replace the existing file named “CueSheetMaker.xla” with the new one, and you are done. The next time you open EXCEL, the updated file will be used.

If this is the first time you have downloaded, you may place the files anywhere you like. Microsoft has a preferred location for its Add-In files which you may use. For me it is “C:\Documents and Settings\Bob Wheeler\Application Data\Microsoft\AddIns”. Yours will differ only in that “Bob Wheeler” will be replaced by your name or some local machine designation. If you use the preferred location, the Add-Ins dialog, illustrated below, will come up with “CueSheetMaker” already on the drop down list, and all that you will need to do is to check it. (The folder “Application Data” is a hidden folder. To see it you must tell Windows to show the hidden folders: access the “Tools” menu of any folder, then click “Folder Options,” and “View.” Change the setting in the “Hidden files and folders” item.)

[Please skip this paragraph unless you are using Vista and EXCEL 2007. Dwight Siers notes that EXCEL 2007 uses a different preferred folder. It is  “C:\Users\das451\AppData \Roaming\Microsoft\AddIns” on his machine. He says that the add-ins are enabled via the Office Button (top left), then the EXCEL options/Add-ins menu item. After the add-ins are enabled and EXCEL restarted, a new tab entitled ADD-INS is installed on the ribbon. I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who uses EXCEL 2007 if this information is not correct.]

Start EXCEL now. pull down the “Tools” menu, and click on “Add-ins.” The dialog that appears should resemble the following: If you have placed “CueSheetMaker.xla” in the preferred location, it should appear on the list of Add-Ins, and all you have to do is to check it and click the OK box. If you have placed it somewhere else, you may use the “Browse” button to navigate to it and add it to the list of “Add-Ins.” Once it has been added, check it and click the OK button.

You will then see a new menu bar like the following:

Click the help button for instructions in using CueSheetMaker..

About CueSheetMaker.

CueSheetMaker takes a saved or pasted in file and processes it into cue sheets. Details about the several programs that prepare such saved files are accessible from the side bar hyperlinks on this page.

The first two icons on the tool bar are used to load the output of various mapping programs. The first icon, which looks like a folder, may be used to load a saved file. The second icon, the paste pot, may be used to paste in the “Directions” information from a program -- currently paste may be used only with Garmin’s MapSource.

Click on one of the icons and either navigate to a saved file or paste one in. CueSheetMaker will then create an “Edit cue sheet” similar to the following:

Very little editing will be needed for pasted in directions.

For loaded files, editing will usually be needed. The WayPoint names can be expanded, and careful attention should be paid to “close” turns, since it is difficult to calculate these precisely. In particular, BR, and BL, should be inspected. In the above case row 9 should be R and not BR.

The MapSource distances are very accurate. I have checked them over quite a few rides, including one 74mi ride. The GPX distances are also accurate if the roads are traced closely in Pedometer. The DeLorme distances are not very accurate, and there is nothing to be done about it , because DeLorme does not output enough information to improve the calculation.

Lines can be deleted -- select an entire line and click the “delete” key. The lines will be removed when the cue sheet is made; and of course new lines may be added. (If lines are not removed properly, it is likely that you have not deleted them, but only blanked the cells.)

After revision, the above Edit Cue sheet appears as:

Once the Edit cue sheet is to one’s liking, click on the drop down list and choose a cue sheet template: the present choices are

The choices with “Heading” in their names contain heading information. Choosing “Three Stripes Heading” produces a cue sheet. The following shows only the upper left quadrant of the cue sheet.

Note: I f a cue sheet is not produced, the most likely culprit is an active cell in the Edit Cue Sheet area. Simply click somewhere in a column after D and try again.

The ride name and other information may be filled in as desired before printing. Note that the long line has been broken into two rows -- the breakpoint is at about 30 characters. Had there been more waypoints than lines on the cue sheet, additional pages would have been produced.

If the cue sheet is not what is wanted, the Edit cue sheet may be revised and a new cue sheet produced, and of course one can create multiple cue sheets with different templates if desired. Reading in or pasting in a new .file will delete the existing workbook.