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You can run ExcelReport.exe in command line. The format is:
excelreport < xrf file name > [-d] [-u1 user1] [-p1 pwd1] ... [pa1 pa2 ...]
For example:
excelreport c:\excelreport\monthlysales.xrf 199605
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ExcelReport.exe 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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XLReportCom comes with a sample database, VB sample programs, VBA sample programs and sample reports. You can use them when learning the program. To use the samples, 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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XLReportCom 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.
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You can edit an XRF file (.xrf) with a text editor such as Notepad.
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In an XRF file, 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 an XRF file, you can use parameters in the SQL statements. To use parameters, you must define them first.
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In an XRF file, you can use parameters in the paths and names of the report file, template file and log file. To use parameters, you must define them first.
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You should be careful to define a unique name for each parameter, because XLReportCom 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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If you get some errors when you run ExcelReport.exe, you can check the default log file "ExcelReport.log" under the XLReportCom program directory. If you do not define the log file in the XRF file, or can not create the log file defined, you can find log information in the ExcelReport.log.
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In the [SQL] section in the XRF file, 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 GroupTableReport method or Group Table Report function.
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In Group Table Report function in the XRF file, 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 using XLReportCom. You should store the path and name of the graphics file in the database, identify the image fields 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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You can write a program to make an XRF file using C, perl or DOS shell, and then run ExcelReport.exe to generate report. The two steps can be written into a batch file.
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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.