Our company has a reporting solution utilizing Analysis services + Reporting Services, with excel reports being a priority. Everything's sort of fine, but several annoying things are bothering us:
No ability to rename the sheets
Embedded images stretch the containing cells vertically, thus making scrolling a pain
Cross-sheet links are not supported (turns out that can be implemented using bookmarks)
So my question is basically this - should we try solving these issues somehow (i.e. is that even possible), or should we use some excel rendering extension with more formatting options ? Can you recommend any extensions ?
You may want to take a look at Apose.Cells. I've never used their products, but you can download a free trial and see if it suits your needs.
Alternatively, you can create custom renderer (MSDN)
Related
I'd like to be able to produce PDF files in NodeJS.
Currently, we use puppeteer. We need to produce highly designed documents and so puppeteer/chromium gives me the ability to create a complex layout in HTML with the added benefit of also having the HTML version of the file.
It's great for relatively small documents where design is key.
The problem is when I try to produce long report documents. These documents do not require elaborate design. These are pretty much just a header with some information, and then a simple table with lots of records that stretch far as the eye can see, so they tend to be large. Like, really really large.
When I try using puppeteer for that, well pretty much just crashes and burns because loading such huge layouts into the underlying browser is just too much.
Currently I do "stitching". I create the document by having puppeteer create the doc in parts, and then I connect all those "doclets" into one using PDFKit.
But then I have problems like when one "doclet" ends and a new one begins, there are blank lines. (partially empty pages for no good reason from the perspective of a customer viewing it)
What I'm looking for is a library that has basic layout functionality but that doesn't use a browser (or perhaps uses something lightweight).
Problem is that libraries like PDFkit and pdf-lib seem to be too low level.
I'm going to literally have to "draw" the documents by telling it where exactly the text should be.
If I want tables, I'm going to straight up have to draw rectangles and stuff.
Having to create all of this manually would be a nightmare.
All I want is the ability to create simple layouts (tables, titles, text wrapping, background color) without having to use a library that just launches chromium.
Please, let me know if you know of any such option.
Thanks in advance!
What I tried:
PDFkit/pdf-lib - too low level. Unless I'm getting something wrong, there doesn't seem to be a way to create word wrapped layouts with basic tables.
jsPDF doesn't seem to be able to use the HTML functionality on the server(I think to get it to work I'd have to let it use a browser...? if so, doesn't really help).
Puppeteer/other libraries that pilot a browser - well, it uses a browser so a no-go for large docs.
Praying to Odin - No luck so far.
I'm using the drive time zone functionality in Map Point a lot, but the software is no longer supported. I was wondering if it was possible to get similar functionality in Excel 2016, I've tried to replicate it in 3D Maps but I couldn't find anything. Does anyone know if this can be done with Excel or any add ins?
I haven't seen anything like this in the Excel 3d Maps or PowerMaps. We have been recommending our MapPoint customers move to Caliper's Maptitude product. Yes this does cost money (as did MapPoint, of course) but has more functionality than MapPoint, data is updated more frequently (and there is more of it), and they have a working, useful support service - more than can be said for Microsoft's support of MapPoint!
The latest versions do support drive time zones, and these can be created using the API. It supports the GIS concept of layers, so the drive time zones are 'drawn' as a polygon (area) layer. This can then be used to query/ manipulate other map layers as per any standard GIS.
(the API has a lot more methods/functions than MapPoint's API, and can be used via COM or Caliper's own macro language)
We've also ported some of our MapPoint products to Maptitude.
An alternative would be to roll your own (or pay someone like me to do it :-) ). If you do this, you would need a source of road data.
https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsapps/en-US/e84ec3a9-2ccc-4644-a2e2-70a471848ef8/drivetime-zone-using-bing-map-v8?forum=bingmaps It looks like Bing Maps no longer supports drivetime zones, and all Microsoft mapping is powered by this, so I'm thinking that an Excel option doesn't currently exist. If anyone finds something different that would be very helpful, but for now I'm going on the assumption that it doesn't exist.
I'm working especially with Java web applications (in which mostly with JSF, Java Server Faces). I'm less concerned with the rest of the technologies.
Since different web browsers function less or more differently from one another, any web application should be designed in such a way that it can be incorporated and executed in a defined way by most browsers (might not be all). Which points should be kept in mind to design a web application in such a way that it can function almost exactly on most browsers?
What are the major differences among different browsers which should be noted by web application developers?
you have to check all of these points befor developing web applications with any language...
Almost all web developers (ahem! – perhaps that should read “quite a lot of web developers”) are aware of the need to check how their site looks in a variety of browsers. How far you go obviously depends on the resources available – not everyone is in a position to check Windows, Mac, Unix and Linux platforms. The minimum test would probably be:
Firefox, as that has the best standards compliance and is the second most-used browser;
Internet Explorer for Windows – currently the most widely used browser. It is essential to check both versions 6 and 7 as version 7
fixed quite a lot of bugs in 6 but introduced a new set of its own.
(Microsoft is however still kicking developers in the teeth by not
making it possible to install both versions on the same computer; you
will either need two computers or one of the work-arounds available
on the net.) Version 5 should preferably also be checked; as of
spring 2008 the number of users is not yet negligible. However it is
now uncommon enough that you needn’t worry about cosmetic issues; as
long as the site is readable that should be sufficient.
Opera – growing in popularity due to its speed and pretty good standards compliance.
For some time I also recommended checking Netscape 4 as well, as it often produces radically different results from any other browser, and was very popular for a long time. However the number of users of this bug-ridden browser is now so small (under 0.1% and decreasing) that it can now probably safely be ignored.
Check printed pages
Print some of the pages on a normal printer (i.e. with a paper size of A4 or Letter) and check that they appear sensibly. Due to the somewhat limited formatting options available for printing, you probably can’t achieve an appearance comparable to a document produced by a word-processor, but you should at least be able to read the text easily, and not have lines running off the right-hand side of the page. It is truly extraordinary how many site authors fail to think of this most elementary of operations.
You should also consider using CSS to adjust the appearance of the page when printed. For example you could – probably should – suppress the printing of information which is not relevant to the printed page, such as navigation bars. This can be done using the “#media print” or “#import print” CSS features.
Some sites provide separate “printer friendly” versions of their pages, which the user can select and print. While this may occasionally be necessary as a last resort, it significantly increases the amount of work needed to maintain the site, is inconvenient for the reader and shouldn’t usually be needed.
Switch Javascript off
There are unfortunately quite a number of Internet sites which abuse Javascript by, for example, generating unwanted pop-ups and irritating animations. There are also a number of Javascript-related security holes in browsers, especially Internet Explorer. As a result a lot of readers switch Javascript off – indeed I often do myself. (I have a page giving the reasons in more detail.) Some organisations even block the usage of Javascript completely. Furthermore few, if any, search engines support Javascript.
It is therefore important to check that your site still functions with Javascript disabled. A lot of sites rely – quite unnecessarily – on Javascript for navigation, with the result that the lack of Javascript renders the site unusable.
Clearly if you need it for essential content, that functionality will be lost. But there is no reason why the basic text of the site should be unavailable.
Avoid nearly-meaningless messages like “Javascript needed to view this site”. If you have something worth showing, tell the user what it is, e.g. “enable Javascript to see animation of solar system”.
Switch plug-ins off
The considerations for plug-ins (such as Flash or Java) are very similar to those for Javascript above. Check the site with any plug-ins disabled. The basic text and navigation should still work.
Interest the reader sufficiently, and he might just go to the trouble of down-loading the plug-in. Greet him with a blank screen or a “You need Flash to read this site” message and he will probably go away, never to return.
Switch images off
If scanning a number of sites quickly for information, many readers (including myself) switch images off, for quick loading. Other people cannot view images. So switch images off and check that the site is readable and navigable. This means, in particular, checking that sensible ALT texts have been provided for images. (This check is similar to using a text browser, but not quite the same).
its worth to take a look at this link for more info
Let me explain what I mean by "two-dimensional code editor": imagine of using Inkscape or Gimp in a big canvas (say infinite). The "T - add text" tool is used to write the code. Additionally, all function definitions will be framed and links will connect the called functions.
In other words: you have a very large sheet of (virtual) paper where you can write.
It would be really useful. I don't want to write code as a long list of lines, especially now that big monitors are cheaper.
Is such a code editor out there?
What's your opinion? Would you use a 2d code editor?
I've written 3 or 4 visual editors and my second one worked like this, that was for java and c++ (never published, though I did use it for some published research work)
I still don't like much to write my code 'as a long list of lines'. My point is, after trying a system like this, I tried a windowed system (class outlines in windows, right click to open code editors), then a tree based system...
in the long run (I wrote several apps using all of those), the tree based system with non overlapping windows felt at once most scalable (to different monitor sizes) and foremost, most productive, because dragging the text boxes and links and/or windows in the first version was necessary, without adding much to the programming experience, so it felt wasteful.
If you want to try some of this stuff out, you can google antegram for java (java only) antegram for web (javascript/php/actionscript) and ee-ide (on oogtech.org). I'm not sure if I could dig up the original c++/java textbox + links editor (which could collapse graphs as well, and had an infinite canvas, so pretty close to what you describe).
I'm not working on this as much as I used to as few programmers ever seemed to like it except me, but if you like working the tree way, or feel like adding stuff for your own purposes, ee-ide would be the way to go, as it's nicely modular and easy to extend compared to the rest.
On the commercial side, you can configure visual studio to work with UML-like diagrams. I have a feel it might be a little too heavy (although it's definitely more coding than UML oriented), but I'm not sure, I haven't really tried yet.
This probably doesn't answer your question exactly, but anyway.
Have a look at the NodeBox beta . It is a visual programming environment mostly for creating generative graphics. You can program and edit the nodes with python code, connect and reuse them in multiple ways. (Windows and Mac OS)
Also worth mentioning (in terms of concept) is Field . It is for programming performances and arranges bits of code on a stage/timeline. Very interesting but also very confusing. (Mac OS only)
Third one is vvvv. It is used a lot by graphical artists to create realtime 3d visuals. Node based. (Windows only)
NodeBox and Field are open-source, so if you are looking to create something yourself you can see how it's done there.
Check this out. I came across it today and remembered this question.
Code Bubbles
Developers spend significant time
reading and navigating code fragments
spread across multiple locations. The
file-based nature of contemporary IDEs
makes it prohibitively difficult to
create and maintain a simultaneous
view of such fragments. We propose a
novel user interface metaphor for code
understanding and maintanence based on
collections of lightweight, editable
fragments called bubbles, which form
concurrently visible working sets.
The essential goal of this project is
to make it easier for developers to
see many fragments of code (or other
information) at once without having to
navigate back and forth. Each of these
fragments is shown in a bubble.
A bubble is a fully editable and
interactive view of a fragment such as
a method or collection of member
variables. Bubbles, in contrast to
windows, have minimal border
decoration, avoid clipping their
contents by using automatic code
reflow and elision, and do not overlap
but instead push each other out of the
way. Bubbles exist in a large,
pannable 2-D virtual space where a
cluster of bubbles comprises a
concurrently visible working set.
Bubbles support a lightweight grouping
mechanism, and further support
connections between them.
A quantiative user study indicates
that Code Bubbles increased
performance significantly for two
controlled code understanding tasks. A
qualitative user study with 23
professional developers indicates
substantial interest and enthusiasm
for the approach, despite the radical
departure from what developers are
used to.
http://www.cs.brown.edu/people/acb/codebubbles_site.htm
At one point, LabView had a programming mode like this. You connected program blocks together in a graphical way.
It's been so long since I've used LabView that I don't know if it is still the same.
For me, the MVVM pattern means that there's no code behind the UI controls anyway. The logic is all in a class with properties.
The properties use WPF databinding to update the UI controls. For example, on the form or window, page, whatever, MySearchButton.IsEnabled is bound to ViewModel.MySearchButtonIsEnabled property. So the app logic runs in the ViewModel class and just sets its own properties and the UI updates automatically.
Although this is specific to MS WPF the pattern actually stems from SmallTalk and is found across the development field as MVP. Without WPF one would need to write the databinding or 'presenter' logic, which is common.
This means the UI can be torn off and a new one pasted-in really quickly and with little code knowledge from the UI guy - who, in an ideal world, is a crack creative guy that drives a 70s Citroen.
So my point is that, although it sounds like a neat innovation, a 2D editor like this would be assisting a coding style that is no longer considered optimal.
We have a lot of reports that are generated via VBA & Excel. Only a small percentage of the reports are actual calculations - the majority of the work is sql calls and formatting/writing of cells. The longest of which takes several hours, the majority takes around 20-30 mins each.
The VBA/Excel code plugs into a dll that the VB6 desktop apps use - it's here that all the sql calls are made. While I am sure that there is room for improvement here, it's not this that concerns me - the desktop apps are fairly snappy.
Two VBA functions are used in abundance: These are called GetRange and SetupCell and they nearly always appear together. The GetRange function is a wrapper for the Excel.Range object. It takes a sheet, and 4 values for the extents of the range. Its main use is to pick the cell for editing. There doesn't appear to be much chance of optmising it, but is it the best way?
Its partner is SetupCell. This takes a Excel.Range object, text and a dozen parameters about the cell (font, borders, etc). Most of these parameters are optional booleans but again, it seems very wasteful. Some of these can be set posthumously but some are dependant on the values contained in the cell.
There's quite a lot of code contained in these functions, mainly if statements and work won't appreciate me posting it.
I guess I've got two questions: Is there a better way and what is it and is there are free profiler that I can use to see if the bulk of the time is here or in the dll?
several hours is ridiculous for a report.
If the problem is VBA buy "Professional Excel Development" (stephen Bullen, Rob Bovey et al): this has a free VBA profiler called PerfMon.
If the problem is Excel Calculation see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa730921.aspx?ppud=4
But I would guess that the problem is the high overhead associated with referencing things cell-by-cell: you should always work in large blocks of cells at a time.
Have you thought about using an actual reporting solution? What's your backend db? If you are using MSSQL 2000 or higher there is a fairly decent reporting solution you can use free of charge. SQL Server Reporting Services.
It sounds as if the reports are spending most of their time formatting cells. This could be why the reports seem so slow and the desktop app doesn't.
Alternatively, if you know the formatting before hand and it is fairly static, you could pre-format the sheets to cut down on some of the work.
I will throw this in there as well. Most reporting solutions will allow for conditional formatting and such, but since they are designed to work as such performance will be much better than having Excel do it.
This isn't a profiler recommendation, but it is a suggestion for speeding up Excel macros that are spending their time updating the screen. I've had excellent results by turning off screen updating while the macro is running: set Application.ScreenUpdating= False, and also using a number of other similar settings. Just be sure to turn them back on again when the macro finishes :P
It's not free but you can profile with this. I suspect the demo will be adequate to your needs: http://www.aivosto.com/vbwatch.html
It sounds like the VBA code (or the VB code that's writing to the sheets) is doing so line by line, this can take ages, and is poor design. Write to Excel as a variant in one go. Format the sheet after the data is all imported.
Thanks
Ross