Excel Writer
Introduction
The Excel Writer writes data from an entryset into a range of cells in an Excel spreadsheet. It enables you to combine Proto and Excel to store data and drive models.
Excel Add-ins
On recent systems, Proto runs Excel in a configuration that allows Proto, Excel, and Excel add-ins to all function together. Although unlikely, it is possible that this configuration could cause problems connecting to Excel. If you are having problems connecting to Excel from Proto, you can turn on compatibility mode. You will then have to manually launch Excel before using Proto to ensure Excel add-ins work correctly. To enable compatibility mode:
- Select "Options..." from the "Tools" menu.
- Under "Module Options" click to select the "Use Excel in compatibility mode" check box.
- Click "OK" to close the "Options" window.
Excel compatibility mode is enabled by default when running Proto on versions of Windows XP earlier than Service Pack 2 or on versions of Windows 2000 earlier than Service Pack 4. On these older operating systems, you will need to manually launch Excel before using Proto to ensure Excel add-ins work correctly.
Property Panel:
Excel Writer Properties
- Excel Workbook File
- Specifies the path and file name of the Excel workbook to write in.
- Excel Writer Input
- The name of the input connector that will accept the data written to this range.
- Range Selection
- A drop-down listing of named ranges defined in Excel. These named ranges can be used in lieu of defining a range in the "Range" field.
- Sheet
- Specifies which worksheet in the target workbook the data is written to.
- Cells
- Specifies the range of cells in the worksheet as defined in Excel's range notation (A1:D8 is the square range between cell A1 and cell D8).
- Attribute Row
- Toggles whether or not the cells in the range's first row are used as attribute names or as the first entry in the entryset
- Transpose
- Toggles whether or not the orientation of the entryset data should be inverted. By default, attributes are written as columns and entries are written as rows in the spreadsheet.
- Force Recalculation
- Toggles whether or not recalculation of the workbook is triggered when new data is written by the Excel Writer. This is the equivalent of pressing F9 in Excel, and results in a full workbook recalculation.
Input Menu:
Defined Range Connectors → [Range] (Dynamic Menu)
Sets the entryset to be stored in [Range].
Accepted Datatypes:
- Entryset
- Entryset matching the dimensions of the specified range.
Defined Range Connectors → Set [Range] Cells (Dynamic Menu)
Text defining a range to write. Should be in Excel format such as: A1:D8
Accepted Datatypes:
- Text
Set Target Workbook (Dynamic Menu)
Sets the file path of the Excel workbook for the Excel Reader to read from.
Accepted Datatypes:
- Text
- A file path.