Using MS Access Reports through LabView

[Tim_C.]

Is it possible to use MS Access to create reports (the data formatted output report) then use labview to manipulate the data and print the data on the reports formatted in MS Access?  OR is there an easier way?

Thanks

Tim Crouse

[ColeTrain]

Hello Tim,

I am unfamiliar with MS Access and do not have a copy available to work with.  When you create a report, what are you including in it and what is the extension of the resulting report?  We may be able to do this a few ways.  Either through the database connectivity toolkit, ActiveX connections, or the way you originally suggested with modifying the created report.  Let me know and I will help you figure out the best way to attack this.

[Chris_VH]

Hey Tim,

You basically need a UDL file to be able to communicate with Access through LabVIEW.

You can see how to do that here

[Tim_C.]

I didn't want to use access to output the report,  I basically only was going to use access to create the report form then use labview to populate and print the form.

I should also mention that I do have the report generation toolkit,  can that be used to create reports that look like an existing ms access report?

In other words how customizable is the report generation  tool kit?

[ColeTrain]

Tim,

The report generation toolkit can load templates that you previously create and then populate the template with the data you specify.  What format do you want to final report to be in and where does the data reside that you want to populate the report with (database, generated by VI, ect.)?

[Tim_C.]

I would like the reports to be in PDF if possible.  Not sure were the data will reside just yet...  Can I use the report tools kit to create forms?  Or does it simply have templates?

[ColeTrain]

As of right now we can only create Word, Excel, or HTML reports with the report generation toolkit.  Also, what exactly is the difference you see between a form and a template?  Again, without much Access experience, I just need a little help.  Do you already have one of these forms that you can post?

[Tim_C.]

I will have to see if you can get the report forms out of the database....

[Dennis_Knutson]

When I needed to display a form, I just created a front panel in LabVIEW that looked the same. There were some small cosmetic differences but nothing major and it would be a lot faster to just print/save a front panel than trying to export the data to another application.

[Tim_C.]

these are 500+ page reports of diffeent cables in various systems, with parts and build instructions,....