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You can run XLReportGen from the command line. The format is:
excelreport < xrf file name > [-c] [-d] [-u1 user1] [-p1 pwd1] ... [pa1 pa2 ...]
For example:
excelreport c:\excelreport\monthlysales.xrf -c 199605
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XLReportGen can be scheduled with Windows Scheduled Tasks or other tools. The process of generating reports can be fully automated, periodically or on events.
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XLReportGen comes with a sample database Sample.mdb and some sample reports. You can use them when learning the program. To use the sample reports, you must add a data source named "Report Sample" to specify the sample database.
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To make a report template, you can use some sample data. It is very useful especially for formatting. After you have made the report template, you delete the sample data.
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To create a chart in the report template file, you can use some sample data. Using sample data, you can set the various chart options. After you have made the report template, you delete the sample data.
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You can use formulas to perform calculations in a report template file.
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XLReportGen is a converter too. Besides Microsoft Excel workbook, you can generate a report in other file format such as HTML, XML, Lotus 1-2-3, CSV, text. You also can convert data from database to other file format.
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You can protect the generated report so that it can not be modified. To protect the report, select the Protect Report check box in the Configuration dialog box.
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You can edit an XRF file (.xrf) with a text editor such as Notepad.
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If you associate XLReportGen with the file extension ".xrf", an XRF file with the extension ".xrf" will open in XLReportGen when you double-click the file. The information:
File Extension: .xrf
Action: open
Application: "C:\Program Files\LJZsoft\ExcelReport.exe" "%1"
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For the report template file, report file and log file, it is possible to give a relative path. If it is a relative path, the base path is the path of the XRF file.
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In the SQL statements, you can use parameters. To use parameters, you must define them first.
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In the paths and names of the report file, template file and log file, you can use parameters. To use parameters, you must define them first.
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The default log file is ExcelReport.log under the XLReportGen program directory. If you do not define the log file name, or can not create the log file defined, you can find log information in the ExcelReport.log under the XLReportGen program directory.
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You should be careful to define a unique name for each parameter, because XLReportGen will replace all strings that are the same as the names of the parameters. It is a good choice a name begins with the "$" character such as "$ReportDate".
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In the text editor window, you can use comments. A comment is the "/*" characters, followed by any sequence of characters (including new lines), followed by the "*/" characters. You cannot nest comments.
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To add totals or subtotals, you can use the functions of Microsoft Excel or aggregate functions in SQL statement.
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To group data in a report, you should use GROUP VARIABLE TABLE REPORT function.
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In REPORT function, the order of groups should be in accordance with the order of ORDER BY clause in the SQL statement.
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You can create reports with pictures unsing XLReportGen. You should store the path and name of the graphics file in the database, identify the image fileds in the report function, and specify the positioning option and size in the report template file.
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To convert from pixels to points, it is depend on the screen resolution (DPI). If you have a 96 dpi screen (Windows PC), 4 pixels are equal to 3 points.
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It is very useful to create a temporary table. You can prepare data using INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE/INSERT SELECT, and then make a report using REPORT function.
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To use add-ins or Auto_Open macros, you should set "Enable addins when Excel starts up" or "Enable Auto_Open macro".
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You can write a program to make an XRF file using C, perl or DOS shell, and then run XLReportGen to generate report. The two steps can be written into a batch file.
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If you do not save a password in the XRF file, a login dialog box will appear when you run the XRF file in XLReportGen. You can input password interactively to log on to the data source.
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In general, group variable table report is slower than non-group variable table report. But if the ranges of all groups are same as the range of details, it is faster.
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It may take a lot of time to add pagebreaks. If you change the default printer or delete all printers on your computer, it will probably impact the performance.