LabVIEW

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Controlling Excel

How do I control Excel so that operators using the test software I am creating cannot change things within my Excel Template?  I am loading an Excel template that does all the analysis and prints out the report when complete.  The template is populated from LabView (8.2) using the NI Report Generation Tool Kit.  The operators need to see the report (scroll through the report) but should not be able to save, edit or format the report.

 

Thanks for any support,

Paul

0 Kudos
Message 1 of 6
(2,749 Views)
Have you tried to make the excel template a "Read Only" document?
0 Kudos
Message 2 of 6
(2,677 Views)
Yes.  My template is a read only access for the operator.  The problem is I can lock all cells with formulas in them but I cannot lock the cells where LabView will populate the data.  If you were to lock and unlock each time LabView was to write data it would be very slow.  I like the operator to be able to review the entire report which means they need to scroll arround the report before printing but I do not want them to have the ability to tweek numbers in order to create a passing unit.
 
Currently we are using the software that I created but I have not been able to prevent access to unlocked cells.  The test takes approximately 10 minutes in which time the operator has losts of time to work within the excel sheet were cells are unlocked.
 
At first my solution was to put a transparent labview form above Excel but this prevented the use of the scroll bars and arrow keys as they could not get Excel to be active.
 
Thanks for any suggestions.
Paul
 
0 Kudos
Message 3 of 6
(2,669 Views)
Hi Paul,
 
could you please clarify a point:

You mention that the operators have to review the entire report . If that is the case why then allow them access ?

Surely the solution would be to print out the report and for them to verify the data. Thus eliminating any data manipulation.

 In your application I would suspect that you have covered the main 'bugs' but still expect some to 'fall through'. By having the operators check the reports you also get feedback on any suspects!

I am preparing an apploication where I will intergrate 5 different measurement applications into one database report. At present it is done 'manually' which introduces the strong likely hood of errors being introduced by the keyboard.  The production team still want to have a hand on feel for the results so I have come up with the solution of 'merging' all the results behind the scene while they still prepare the results manually. Then tehy canl compare the automatic solution to the manual one via a PC. Any discrepencies between the  two result templates would then be analyised to determine which has the valid data.

It sounds very long winded but its difficult dragging dinosauers into the 22nd centurySmiley Tongue

Just my 2 cents worth.
Xseadog


0 Kudos
Message 4 of 6
(2,663 Views)

During the test they make adjustments depending on the patern the report is generating.  The program automatically starts over with every adjustment but the report is not printed because we would be killing many inocent trees.  The active Excel report is a tool that helps the operator but I did not want them to manually enter numbers for the sake of erros or cheating.

As for your application I have created many interfaces to databases for the purpose of SPEC.  Event this one will eventually be database driven in the sense once the operator is happy with the outcome the can comit the results and the record will be added to the database.

Thanks for your input.

0 Kudos
Message 5 of 6
(2,661 Views)
I don't know if this works for your kinds of data, but you can write to "hidden cells" in Excel.  If the data that the operator sees was set up using formulas to "mirror" the hidden data, I think you could lock them out and still your LV program to do its thing.
0 Kudos
Message 6 of 6
(2,654 Views)