I inserted and tested your suggestion number one and it works as advertised--thanks.

However, I have a need that may exceed the ability of Excel. I do not often open this spreadsheet. The number of companies listed is roughly 40, their dates of contact are mostly staggered and the time between re-contact is generally greater than 90 days. Therefore, although the script works fine once the spreadsheet is opened, while Excel is closed the script is of no help.

What I REALLY need is for the script to 'wake-up' (load) the spreadsheet or place an alert on the desktop or in some way to tell me to open and check the spreadsheet. Is such a mechanism out of the realm of reason?

Thanks,

Mark