The design process

Designing a report for use with the ReportExcelerator consists of using standard Excel functionality coupled with the power of specific data add-ins for data, calculations and formatting.

• Defining the Data sources

• Formatting, Calculations and Charting

• Testing

Defining the Data sources

Whether you require access to databases, files, logs, web data, application systems (CRM, ERP, etc.), or Real Time data you can use Microsoft Excel combined with your favorite data add-in. Design your report then use the ReportExcelerator to automatically load the data addins and output selected information in a format that you choose..

Excel Add-ins

Most leading HMI, SCADA servers and control systems have data addins into Microsoft Excel that enable users to extract the historical and real-time data that users are interested in. This enables everybody to design flexible, feature-rich reports from these real time data sources. These add-ins often provide full tag browsing capability combined with powerful range of functions that deliver real time and historical data, such as.

• Current value

• Archive value

• Maximum, Minimum, Range, Median, Total, Std dev

• Compressed data

• Sampled data (start time, end time), (start time, number)

• Batch data

This data and resulting calculations from these data sources is refreshed by the ReportExcelerator when a report is executed.

ODBC and OLEDB

Within Excel you can use Microsoft Query to set up data sources and retrieve data. In Query, you can use the Query Wizard to create a simple query, or you can use more advanced criteria features in Query to create a more complex query. You can access Query directly from Excel, or you can create a query from within the PivotTable and PivotChart Wizard. You can use Query to retrieve data that is stored in a relational database such as Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server. In addition to external databases, you can also retrieve data stored in a Microsoft Excel list or a text file.

When you retrieve data from a relational database, Excel list, or text file, you can bring together data that is organized in multiple tables. You can also specify criteria that data must meet to be included in the external data range. This allows you to exclude data that isn't relevant to your specific need. For example, you might be interested in sales figures, but only for a certain month.

If the data in the report is part of a database query, this data and its resulting calculations are refreshed by the ReportExcelerator when a report is executed.

The Web

You can use a Web Query to bring tables and preformatted areas into Excel. When you use a Web query, you can specify which parts of the Web page you want and how much formatting you want to keep. You can also open any .htm file in Excel. When you do this, you get the entire Web page, but you might lose some content.

If the data in the report is part of a web query, this data and its resulting calculations are refreshed by the ReportExcelerator when a report is executed.

Text files

Text file data can be seamlessly imported into Excel using standard Excel functionality. On the Data menu, point to Get External Data, and then click Import Text File. There are a range of options for specifying how you want to divide the text into columns, along with formatting and layout options for how the external data range is to brought into Microsoft Excel.

If the data in the report is part of a text file query, this data and its resulting calculations are refreshed by the ReportExcelerator when a report is executed.

Formatting, Calculations and Charting

When you create a report within Microsoft® Excel, you have an array of standard tools that enable you to create just about anything that you can conceive. Within the process industry you have an even more powerful tool in Excel as you can easily get data from data historians through Excel add-ins. These add-ins offer a high degree of flexibility and control over how data is retrieved from the data historian that can not be found in more expensive reporting products.

Use Excel’s standard functions include calculations, data sorting, statistical, time, logical, date and time, database, math and trig, text, logical and lookup functions. In adding there are a wealth of independent suppliers of data addins that can enhance the calculation capacity of Excel.

Use Excels extensive formatting and interactivity options to empower end users with business information including font size, colors, borders and pictures.

Excels standard charting functionality is used to empower end users with crisp clear graphics that enhance to enhance a standard report including. Increase the graphical impact of your reports by choosing from a wide variety of map and chart types including column, bar, line, pie, xy, area, doughnut, radar, surface, bubble, cylinder, cone, pyramid and more.

Testing

Once the report has been designed it can be moved to the corporate file server where it can be centrally managed by IT staff. In this environment the ReportExcelerator can be used to initiate the generation of the report. The ReportExcelerator can run any number of reports to verify data values, test the operation of the schedule and ensure the schedule produces the desired results. Once the report has been properly configured with the ReportExcelerator it can then finally be scheduled.