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About OfficeWriter
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About OfficeWriter
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New Reporting Services 2005 Partner products
Post from: Brian Welcker's Blog
Now that SQL Server 2005 is released, some of our partners are updating and enhancing their products to work with the new version. I want to point out two great partners in with new products.
SoftArtisans has released version 3.5 of their OfficeWriter product. It allows you to build Reporting Services reports directly in Microsoft Word and Excel. Their new version allows you to add native Excel and Word output to reports already designed using the Visual Studio Report Designer.
This entry: http://blogs.msdn.com/bwelcker/archive/2005/11/15/493183.aspx
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Merged Cells in Excel Output
Post from: Chris Baldwin's Blog
Use the third-party report design and rendering tool SoftArtisans OfficeWriter. Using OfficeWriter, reports are designed using Excel as the authoring tool and the Excel document itself becomes the report layout definition. Because you are both designing and delivering in Excel, you can achieve precise Excel layout.
This entry: http://blogs.msdn.com/chrisbal/archive/2006/07/08/659545.aspx
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Support for Excel & Word from Reporting Services
Post from: Richard Hundhausen's Accentient Blog
Reporting in Team System is handled by SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services. As such, team members get to enjoy (and are restricted-by) the built-in report rendering extensions (CSV, Excel, HTML, Image, MHTML, PDF, and XML). What's missing from this list is the Microsoft Word DOC format and a richer Microsoft Excel XLS format.
This is where a product called OfficeWriter comes in. It enables you to use Excel or Word to create templates utilizing data markers and merge fields for databinding sections of the document to the various Team Foundation Server data items. After a quick configuration of Reporting Services, your reports can generate documents/spreadsheets based on these templates without the need for Microsoft Office on the server. There's also an integration with Reporting Services that will let you create these documents without any coding at all. Users will design their RDL reports using Excel or Word, without the need for Visual Studio or SQL Report Builder. Check out their latest version of OfficeWriter (v3.6) at http://officewriter.softartisans.com
This entry: http://blog.accentient.com/PermaLink,guid,bb562fc9-9093-4f7d-b876-fc25f354aeda.aspx
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Rendering Excel and Word Files With SQL Server
Post from: Jeffrey Smith's Blog
I've been playing around with a handy tool for creating Word and Excel files called OfficeWriter that's pretty impressive. Basically, you use Excel or Word to create templates utilizing data markers and merge fields which allow you to databind sections of the document to a data source. It's almost like writing a databound ASP.NET page, only you are using Word or Excel instead of HTML ... a pretty neat idea now that I think of it. Then, using their libraries installed on your server, your ASP/ASP.NET applications can generate documents/spreadsheets based on these templates without the need for Microsoft Office on the server. I've just started to explore the features, but it makes creating Microsoft Office documents programmatically pretty simple and it's quite flexible in the options provided. Their library seems to include pretty much all of the document manipulation methods that you need, and all without creating Word/Excel COM objects on your server.
There's also an integration with Reporting Services that will let you create these documents without any coding at all. Users design RS reports with Excel and Word and don't have to understand Visual Studio or SQL Report Builder. I've only scratched the surface so far, but it seems that they've pretty much thought of every way you'd ever want to generate an Office document and they've got it covered!
Overall, it's definitely something worth looking into if you need any of these features. You can check it out here: http://officewriter.softartisans.com
This entry: http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/jeffs/archive/2006/07/18/10649.aspx
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SoftArtisans OfficeWriter
Post from: Chris Webb's BI Blog
You've probably realised by now that I'm eagerly awaiting
the arrival of Excel Services (I've been asked to join the
beta program so you'll be hearing a lot more about it here
soon), but for me the Holy Grail of reporting would be something
that incorporated the best bits of Excel Services and Reporting
Services, where users could design reports in any Office app,
connect them live to different data sources, and then make
them available over the web and have them rendered in many
different formats. While this might be a pipe dream, I did
come across a very interesting product that offers another
subset of the functionality I want while looking at Brian
Welcker's blog today: OfficeWriter,
from a company called SoftArtisans.
It's a tool that allows you to automate the production of
Excel and Word reports through Reporting Services. There's
a good Technet webcast which gives you a good overview of how
it works here,
as well as some online documentation here.
You basically create your report in Excel or Word, add some
references to data sources using a toolbar, and then publish
the whole thing to RS; users can then go to RS, render the
report and they get the spreadsheet or document you originally
designed (with all the original features like charts, formatting,
formulas etc) with the data dynamically injected into it. Definitely
worth a look.
This entry: http://spaces.msn.com/members/cwebbbi/Blog/cns!1pi7ETChsJ1un_2s41jm9Iyg!382.entry
More from Chris Webb: http://spaces.msn.com/members/cwebbbi/PersonalSpace.aspx?_c=
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3rd Party Report Builders for SQL Server Reporting Services
that don't require Visual Studio know how
Post from: Mat Stephen's SQL Server WebLog
A recurring concern for IT Pros looking to employ SQL Server
Reporting Services is the apparent need to use Visual Studio
as the report designer. This is not the case.
There are a number of alternatives out there.
OfficeWriter from http://officewriter.softartisans.com/officewriter-250.aspx
Use MS Office to Design Reports
Released in September 2004, the Reporting Services Edition
of OfficeWriter allows users to design and then publish their
Reporting Services reports without ever leaving Microsoft
Office. Visual Studio .NET is no longer needed to design
reports.
Every Feature of Office 97-2003
With OfficeWriter, Reporting Services customers can now utilize
all advanced Excel features such as pivots, VBA, macros,
advanced formulas and live charts. In addition, end users
can now design and deliver their reports in Microsoft Word,
which is currently not supported by Reporting Services.
This entry: http://blogs.technet.com/mat_stephen/archive/2004/12/20/327396.aspx
More from Mat Stephen: http://blogs.technet.com/mat_stephen/default.aspx
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Creating Office Documents on the Server
Post from: Chris Kunicki's Random "Deep Thoughts" on Microsoft
Office and Related Subjects
SoftArtisans, a well-respected software company that specializes
in server-side components has an interesting offering for those
developing Microsoft Office solutions on server. They have
a product called SoftArtisans OfficeWriter that allows you
to create Word and Excel documents on server without having
to install Microsoft Office on the server.
It is a cross-platform product available for J2EE, ASP and
ASP.NET. On the web site company claims "the only product on
the market that fully maintains all of Excel's and Word's formatting/styles
and advanced features such as VBA and macros.
Is not an inexpensive product. It's priced at $2795. They
also have two other versions that support just Word or Excel
respectively priced at $1500 each.
Learn more about SoftArtisans
OfficeWriter at officewriter.softartisans.com
This entry: http://blogs.officezealot.com/chris/archive/2004/01/24/1193.aspx
More from Chris Kunicki: http://blogs.officezealot.com/chris/
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