Bob
glad it is solved and thanks for the feedback

RES

as a postscript to this it is a good indication of how a vague question
lead to people down different avenues
Harlan actually did what you asked and sorted out your formula. As he has
done for me on a number of occasions.
I ignored your request and took a guess at the underlying problem. This
time I got lucky.

Sorry if this in any way feels like a lecture because in reality it was a
much better post than many out there

The more people who read advice such as the link below the better these
groups will be.
http://cpearson.com/excel/newposte.htm

<no response needed - I have said my piece> <vbg>