XLReportGen

How to create Microsoft Excel reports with pictures

Using XLReportGen, you can rapidly create various Microsoft ® Excel ® reports with pictures. XLReportGen is an easy to use, cost effective, powerful and flexible reporting tool that outputs reports in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet format.

About pictures in Micosoft Excel

To make eye-catching reports, you can add pictures to your reports. You can insert many popular graphics file formats into your workbook. Microsoft Excel supports the following graphics file formats without a separate graphics filter. However, you do need a graphics filter installed to insert all other graphics file formats.

Microsoft Excel supports the following graphics file formats without a separate graphics filter:

Enhanced Metafile (.emf)
Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpg)
Portable Network Graphics (.png)
Microsoft Windows Bitmap (.bmp, .rle, .dib)
Graphics Interchange Format (.gif)
Windows Metafile (.wmf)

Inserting pictures into a report template in Microsoft Excel

To make a report using XLReportGen, you need to create a report template in Microsoft Excel. You can insert pictures into the report template directly in Microsoft Excel. For example, you want to display a logo in your report. You can insert the logo graphics file into the report template. For more information about adding pictures to worksheets, refer to Microsoft Excel Help.

Inserting pictures into a report using XLReportGen

Except for inserting the static pictures during report design, you want to insert pictures during report buliding process. You hope a reporting tool to pull pictures from database into Excel report. XLReportGen can insert pictures from the graphics files, and support all graphics file format that Microsoft Excel support.

To insert pictures into a report using XLReportGen, you should do as follows:

Store the path and name of the graphics files in the database

You stored the path and file name of the pictures in database, did not store the pictures. The file path can be a relative path, an absolute path or a URL. For example, you store "images\emp1.jpg" in Photo field.

Identify the image fields in the report function

Write a report function in the XRF file, and identify the image fields using IMAGE argument. For example,

@F1=Report(sheet="Employee Profile" ... image=photo)

Specify the positioning option and size in the report template

To specify the positioning option and size, you should write a formatting expression into the cell in the report template file. XLReportGen will get the text of the cell, and insert a picture into the cell according to the instruction in the format expression.

Run XLReportGen to generate report with pictures

During report generating process, XLReportGen will read the graphics files, and insert them into the report according to your instruction.

See the report sample with pictures