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  • 1.  Datalinq Excel

    Posted 05-15-2013 18:51
    We primarily use a volunteer crew with a heavy turnover of volunteers. My goal is to datalinq my Xpression graphics to an Excel sheet opened on a seperate, networked computer, hoping to allow new volunteers to easily update stats and names "on the fly" through the excel form.

    So far, I'm having luck creating the datalinq to an excel form on the Xpression computer, but not to a file saved on a seperate compter, where I want my data updates to be done.

    These are the steps I've taken:

    -install excel on Xpression computer.

    -create a shared workbook between an Excel file on the Xpression computer and an Excel file on another laptop.

    -datalinq to the Excel file on the Xpression.

    Am I barking up the right tree?

    Thanks for the help.


  • 2.  RE: Datalinq Excel

    Posted 05-15-2013 20:48
    You're on the right track. Depending on the version of XPression you're running, newer versions have built-in Excel support. This means you don't have to install it on your box unless you want to edit the spreadsheet there. You can also keep your spreadsheet on your networked computer and install the datalinq server on that machine - and link your XPression to that. I do that all the time and it works great.

    Just a FYI - OpenOffice is also a good free alternative if you don't have licenses for Excel and most of the functionality is the same. And it and read/write xls files.

    #XPression


  • 3.  RE: Datalinq Excel

    Posted 08-05-2022 07:24

    I know this is way old, and not sure if you're gonna see this even...

    But yeah, if you're out there, please explain this one to me.
    Yes, I can connect to an .xls file created by open office, but the share document setting in OO Calc is completly useless.

    Long story short, I can use a set and locked excel document in DataLinq, but if you want to update it with new data, that's a no go.
    Or at least I cant wrap my head around it.



    ------------------------------
    Aleksander Stalsberg
    Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences/Lillehammer Icehockey Club
    Norway
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Datalinq Excel

    Posted 08-05-2022 07:26
    You need to set it to shared. 
    If you're using modern excel you need to turn on legacy settings. 

    If you're using open office then I am not sure sorry.

    ------------------------------
    Simon Redmile
    Senior Graphic Programmer & Designer
    Ross Video
    Bristol United Kingdom
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Datalinq Excel

    Posted 08-05-2022 08:14

    Yeah I've got no problems making it work for Excel.

    But we as an organization only have Office 365, wich in turn requires a login and reactivation every 30 days online...
    Should not be a problem, but was trying to see if I could get it working with OpenOffice Calc.



    ------------------------------
    Aleksander Stalsberg
    Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences/Lillehammer Icehockey Club
    Norway
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Datalinq Excel

    Posted 08-05-2022 08:17
    It's not something I've done although I have heard of people making a dashboard panel to parse google sheets as XML into XPression datalinq.

    ------------------------------
    Simon Redmile
    Senior Graphic Programmer & Designer
    Ross Video
    Bristol United Kingdom
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Datalinq Excel

    Posted 08-05-2022 08:57

    Thaaaat would be me and my students among others yes...

    Works fine, but you have to also include a timer in the DashBoard to repeatedly pull data from the google spreadsheet.
    But usually that is more for the students a bit further in the course. The Excel workflow is alot easier.



    ------------------------------
    Aleksander Stalsberg
    Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences/Lillehammer Icehockey Club
    Norway
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Datalinq Excel

    Posted 05-15-2013 21:05
    Rather than using the "Excel" datalinq; I recommend using the "ADODB" datalinq which can read your excel sheet as if it were a database.

    You need to enter a connection string for the ADODB datalinq which will be something like this:

    Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;

    Data Source=c:MyFile.xls;

    Extended Properties="Excel 8.0;HDR=Yes";

    In Excel you need to define "named ranges" around the fields of data that you want to be able to read from XPression. These then show up as "Tables" in the database.

    #XPression


  • 9.  RE: Datalinq Excel

    Posted 05-21-2013 17:35
    Thanks guys. We'll give it a try!

    #XPression


  • 10.  RE: Datalinq Excel

    Posted 05-21-2013 20:04
    thanks again. it worked like a charm. Much appreciated!

    #XPression