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Interactive Report

Web Published by XLReporter- click here

Overview 
This report shows how to design a report to interact with a User. In testing and lab environments it is common place to have Users enter results manually into a worksheet after a test has been performed.  With XLReporter that mode of operation can be eliminated by automatic sheet updates, on-demand from the User.

The Engine Test Report provided with XLReporter is an example of an Interactive Report. In this example, the report consists of test results from different phases of an engine test. The results from each test are reported in columns on the worksheet. Pushbuttons are placed at the head of each test column which are pressed by the User when the test is complete.


Engine Testing Display

Technology
The Engine Test Report uses the following technology:
Interacting with reports.
Using VBA to harness XLReporter functionality.

Report Design
The design in provided in the file EngineSample.xls.  The report is used interactively by pressing a pushbutton and the head of a column to initiate the collection of data, and populate the selected column.

The report contains Row connections to the test parameters that are required in the report.  All the connections use the offset CR019.

x

x

x

x

Report Generation/Simulation
The report is provided with the following pushbuttons:
New Test: Pressed at the start of a new test run.
Refresh: Pressed to refresh the column of data for the test.

At the beginning of a test, the User presses the New Test pushbutton, this updates the date of the test and clears any old test results.  If required, the report could be enhanced to update other parameters such as Engine number and Operator name when this pushbutton is pressed.

As each test is completed, the User presses the Refresh button of that test.  This causes the results from the test to be collected from the test rig and automatically placed in the column that is associated with the test. Note that Refresh pushbuttons are disabled when they have been pressed, this is a function of the example.

How does the Report Work?
The mechanism behind this report is simple but very effective. 

When the User presses a Refresh pushbutton, the offset counter CR019 is set to the offset of the column and the sheet is then updated.  All this is performed by two lines of code under the pushbutton.

For example, if the Refresh button of test 4 is pressed, the following VBA is executed:

' Set the counter to the Test number
XLRrequest "Set 'CR019:Cval' '4'"

' Request an update of the sheet
XLRrequest "UpdateSheet 'EngineSample.Report'"

Scheduler
There is no scheduler for this report. 

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