5.3. Troubleshooting

When using AQL functions, several different types of problem might arise. These fall into three main groups:

  • Errors in function names and arguments

  • Errors in values given to a function

  • Errors in accessing the Aqwa files

Some problems may cause Excel to display one of its standard error indicators. #NAME? usually means that you have mis-typed the name of the function, or that the aql32/64.xla add-in has not been loaded. #N/A usually means that too few arguments have been given to a function. #VALUE! usually means that the wrong type of arguments have been given (such as text where a number is expected) or a wrong value for an argument with a restricted range of valid values (such as “Q” or 8 for a freedom name, where only “X”, “Y”, “Z”, would be acceptable).

Some general suggestions for solving problems are:

  • #NAME? - check that the function name is spelled correctly and that the aql32/64.xla add-in has been loaded

  • #N/A - check that the correct number and type of arguments have been given to the function - use the Formula|Paste Function... command in Excel to check what the arguments mean

  • #VALUE! - if the cell contains a formula which does a calculation, the AQL function may be returning an error code and Excel is signaling that it cannot perform arithmetic on text values. If the cell simply calls a function check that arguments which can only take a few possible values, such as axis names, force names, etc. have been correctly specified

  • #REF! - this error is generally nothing to do with AQL

  • If the Aqwa analysis has been re-run since the spreadsheet was last used, make a null edit of the cell where the Aqwa files are defined (simply put the cursor on the cell, press F2, enter) and Excel will re-calculate as if you had changed the cell (even though you know that you have not). This may clear up problems caused by Excel displaying out-of-date results.

  • Many errors in tables come from confusion about absolute and relative cell addresses, so check that a formula that you have copied does reference the appropriate rows and columns for element, node, etc. numbers.

The individual functions in the DLL are designed to be fairly robust so they will not cause Excel or Windows to crash in the event of problems. They only read from Aqwa files, so cannot corrupt any data. However it is not advisable to attempt to read from an Aqwa database file at the same time as an Aqwa program is trying to write to it.