Digital Workshop

Hello, I am working on a project where my client wants an application built in Opus that is capable to read some cells in an excel file and report it inside Opus.

For me, the easiest way will be to link the spreadsheet to a database and then collect the info from the database but my clients does not want that so...has anybody here has been able to read the content of a "spreadsheet cell" and record it into a variable that then can be called from inside Opus?

Ah! clients, clients! Always wanting not the easy but the complicated!
German

Seems like there was some prior work done on that.
viewtopic.php?t=912&highlight=excel+read

I am curious too... to learn that in the future. And how flexible any solution here can be. Good luck.

If I understand your requirement there is an example which does exactly what you want provided in the sample publications which ship with Opus. Use the Browse Sample Publications on the File menu to find the Database examples - one uses Excel.

The only issue comes when trying to write a value back to a cell as that is not possible with Excel - then you would have to use a database.

Paul Harris

Excel workbooks can be linked to Opus via a standard ODBC link, the same as Access MDB file. (see attached)

I seem to remember that in a previous incarnation of Excel, that you had to specify the field headers - but either that has been removed from my latest version (2003) or Opus doesn't require this.

I've uploaded the published version because changing the settings after establishing a new ODBC is a pain and basically, its easy to build this sample from scratch.

Mack

Thanks mackabi, I'll give it a go and report back
Cheers mate!

German

I am just about to start a project that draws data from an excel database.
I have the sample pub and will have a look at that.
My initial question is,
Rather than just using next or previous records.
How would I set up a search function to go to specific records?

Regards

Pete

I have created some reasonably advanced database applications using excel where I read and write to the database, do searches, listboxes, hyperlinks in the database which opens documents within Opus.
When you create a ODBC link in Opus to the excel spreadsheet, it automatically pulls in the field headers when you do the first query.

For some reason, I have not been able to get the Excel ODBC to work - I am using Access ok - but, it would be good to get excel working for any future projects. What do/would you select for Excel created in Office 2007 for instannce?

Regards

Pete

I created a spreadsheet, three column headers in the first row, name, address, age.
I saved the spreadsheet as Test.xls
In Opus I created a input box and attached a Database query. In the Database query tab, click on 'select',
then in file data source, select 'new'
select the Microsoft Excel DSN driver(*.xls)
Give the DSN a name 'test'
then hit 'finish'
In the ODBC Microsoft Excel Setup window, select database version Excel97-2000, then select the spreadsheet (test.xls)

the database query should now have FILEDSN=test.dsn; in the DSN field.
Select SQL Wizzard
don't select data for updating. select 'next'
select the pulldown in the table box
select Sheet1$
the column headers should appear, then you set up the rest of the query


I use a mixture of database actions and scripting.






Sorry for the scrappy reply, I lost the first one!

Sandy