Version 4 Reporting

[CFisher]

Well, I've dipped my toe into the v4.0 pool. Haven't done much yet - in fact, I haven't even moved the machine with it yet.

Does anyone know how to get rid of the PC-DMIS logo at the top of the standard report template?

I tried editing the Logo.dat file but that didn't appear to work.

While I'm at it...someone reported a way to return to the old report method...can't seem to find it now though.

Thanks!

[BSchwark]

Here is a site with some info on 4.0. I do not think it will answer your question but maybe give you some ideas what you are getting into?

ftp://ftp.wilcoxassoc.com/Template%2...iningFinal.ppt

BS

[rebeldude]

Kevin and I are going to the Open house featuring Version 4 . We hope to get some down and dirty details about it to pass on to everyone

[Snaggy]

Hi, I asked the same question a few weeks back and got this reply from Jared. Helped me hope it helps you.

Since v4.0 now uses its own Reporting window for reports, modifying the logo.dat will no longer change the display of the header in the report. Modifying logo.dat will only modify the header in the Edit window. So, changing the header information is somewhat more involved than it used to be, at least until you get used to the report and label templates. But, the new template approach to reporting also provides you with a lot of power and flexibility.

Your report template (by default this is textonly.rtp) calls a label template to display the header information (by default this is FILE_HEADER.LBL). So, this is the file you will need to modify.

Note that report or label template files that ship with PC-DMIS are protected with a read-only attribute to prevent any inadvertent modification. Make a copy of the Reporting subdirectory and store it in a safe place before continuing (you can then restore that directory if your changes happen to cause problems).

Remove the read-only attribute.
Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the file FILE_HEADER.LBL in your Reporting subdirectory.
Right-click on it, and select Properties from the menu. The Properties dialog appears.
Where it says Attributes deselect the Read-only check box.
Click OK.
Open the file in the Label Template editor.
Select File | Reporting | Edit | Label Template. An Open dialog appears.
Select the FILE_HEADER.LBL template and click Open.
In the Label Template Editor you should now see the edit area filled with a GridControlObject. This object controls all the header data that you see in the report.
Change the graphic.
Double-click on the GridControlObject. You will see a hash border around the object. This tells you that you can edit the code or items inside of the header.
Right-click on the PC-DMIS graphic and a Grid Properties dialog appears.
In the Cell tab, click Select. An Open dialog box appears.
Navigate to the graphic image you want in the header, select it, and click Open. The dialog box closes.
Click Apply. The new graphic appears in the cell.
Save and test the modified label template.
Once you have things as you like it, click OK, and then select File | Save to save your changed Label Template.
Select File | Close to close the Label template editor, returning to your part program.
Select View | Report window. If your change doesn't immediately appear, select the Redraw the Report icon from the Reporting toolbar.

[Matthew D. Hoedeman]

I have gotten so sick and tired of the 'reporting' that Pcdmis does (and all the edits required for each and every RTF file) that I am about 95% done with my OWN form, done through Pcdmis to Datapage to Excel that I will not have to worry about it anymore (hopefully it will be finished by the end of this week). As for the RTF files I will be making when (and if) I upgrade to V4.0 and above, they can just sit in their own mess on the hard drive just the way they come out of Pcdmis, I'll not mess with them EVER again (right now, I only mess with them for final part approval). If the customer's do not believe my Excel form, or trust me, I'll send them the RTF files, just as they come out and let them worry about trying to read them.

[Snaggy]

I would love to do the same Matthew, but I wouldn't know where to start. Version 4 reporting sucks!

[Matthew D. Hoedeman]

AH, just just gotta start playing with Excel. That is how I got going, of course, I started about 8 years ago with forms and things that were just for ME. I would play with it and work on it while all my machines were running (1 CMM and 2 WEDM). As longs as they were all running, I could do what I liked (within reason, eh) on the computer. The first thing I put together was a form to fill out the daily timeslips. I had gotten TIRED of the foreman losing them and the need to keep copies so I could fill them out again. So, it was just a form that I filled in, at first. Then, I figured out how to SORT an entire years worth by simply filling in 1 cell in the form with the date I wanted (NOT as easy as it sounds, let me tell you) so that I could print right to the little pieces of paper. Then the next thing I did was work on creating a form that would do double duty, a 'road map' of the points checked as well as showing the deviations of each point (not at the same time) as well as a summary of all the data, averages, range, samples, etc. Then I started adding the RTF look-alike form to it and I am just about DONE, finally. Somewhere on this board I have a JPG showing what MY version of the RTF will look like in Excel. So, not even knowing WHERE to start is no reason not to start anyway. If I had never started, I wouldn't be where I am today!

[craiger_ny]

Matt,

The first ime I went back and forth with you on the whole reporting thing I couldn't agree with you more (still do). Then I saw the report you are working on and I thought very slick he should be proud. Now I am thinking you are proud but this last post makes you sound proud kind of like how the uni-bomber might be proud of his manifesto. I don't blame you for this or anything that might come next. I blame B&S. Look what they do to people man! All over reporting for crying out loud, this should be the easiest user friendly part of the whole dam* software package.

[Snaggy]

Ok Matthew, you have sold it to me, I'll make a start in the morning

[gage guru]

When I was at the users group last week several of the B&S people were also not happy with the new format. I can tell you this....you might want to take stock in ink compnaies cause the new format will suck ink BIGTIME!!! In some ways you can right click and edit the report to your preferences, but weighing the good and the bad I would stick with the old format any day because when comes right down to it - all the fluff aside the numbers are what matters. I would rather they spend more time on the bugs and programming issues and the "how do we do this" items than the stupid output!!! Sorry for venting, but I have seen more people get lost with reports because of the clutter.....LOL

[Matthew D. Hoedeman]

Sure, I'm proud of what I have done, but not overly proud, I don't think. I'm mostly trying to prod others into 'thinking outside the box' and to NOT depend on B&S/Wilxcox/Hexagon to fix what they have so royally messed up. Most people (myself included) don't like change and will have a sort of 'big brother will fix it' attitude about some things (like Pcdmis and it's reports). But, everytime I post about what I have done, it WILL make others think and sooner or later they will figure out something that works for them. These forms I have come up with will not work for everyone. In fact, I am pretty sure that they will really only work for someone who:

1) Works with sheetmetal
2) Does MORE than single-part inspection
3) Can justify the time used to create it with time savings in the regular course of work

Sure, you can use the B&S/Wilcox PCDMISTOEXCEL thingie and sure, it might work great, until they come out with the next version of Pcdmis.

But, I am not posting my own thread every so often to talk about it and to build myself up as some kind of hero. And we all know that not everyone looks at every post. BUT, the more they hear about it, the more they will think about it. The more legitmate replies I can make that reference my work, the more chance that everyone will read about it and the more they will think that maybe, just maybe, they can come up with a system of their own that will put B&S/Wilcox/Hexagon to shame for being unable to do it for us, like they should, after all, it IS their software.

Sure, I am proud of what I have done, but I'll tell you, I am more proud of things I have done that are NOT work related, things that I would LOVE to talk about endlessly to anyone who will listen. Like the night my daughter and I went raccoon hunting and she got her first kill. Or how about JUST my daughter (stay away, all you guys, I have MANY guns!) or her younger brother (who will be going hunting for the first time this fall). Or, how about....... well, you get the idea. Those topics don't 'belong' here, but there are times (TGIF) that they have been brought up, or in 'personal' messages to other users of the board as we banter back and forth about many un-work topics. Lots of things, lots of things..... Anyway, I have been one of those who have been trying to take B&S/Wilcox/Hexagon to task over this reporting issue for many years and have never gotten any satisfaction from them, so I had to take matters into my own hands. I did it, SO CAN YOU. At one point, back in the DOS days, I had an IT guy here who could actually program in 'code' and I had him make me a program that would strip all the 'coding' out of the RTF files and make them TXT files and re-name them in the process. This made them in all black text and about 9000% easier to deal with. But, when the windoze version of Pcdmis came out, I could NOW edit them in WORD instead of using a DOS command prompt and editing them all by hand, change the color of the entire thing with 2 buttons and a mouse click in WORD. The re-paging still had to be done by hand, so that was the same. BUT I SHALL OVERCOME. I SHALL NOT BE THE DUST BENEATH B&S's chariot wheels. I will RISE ABOVE THEM! I will HAVE nice looking reports, no matter what B&S/Wilcox/Hexagon does. I will not look back!

Thank you, and have a NICE day!

[Matthew D. Hoedeman]

HA, my harping got "SNAGGY" to start looking at his own solution, so I guess that justifies my ranting and 'crowing'. No offence, nostril-boy, no offence taken or meant, but I did get the results I was looking for.

You can pick your friends
You can pick your nose
But you CAN'T pick your friend's nose

[hoist bouncer]

Do a File>export>generic and then name your txt file and go to excel and open the txt file. You will then have all your dimensions without any header labels or feature numbers, or axis labels. But you will get away from the icon based report format and able to edit your reports to your style.

[craiger_ny]

I only used the proud/uni-bomber reference to emphasize how far people like yourself (and myself as I have taken up the task as well) are driven. I don't think we should have to go through so much to get the simple things. But the fact is I work writing code during lunch at times, at home at times and when I am not I still think about it. And am I doing this for my employer? No I am doing it for me and I am dam* proud as well. You are right you should be proud (I have seen your sample) and what you have gone through should serve as motivation to others. The flip side is that this is all over what? A lousy report. Man we should not be driven to this over reporting. But B&S/Wilcox/Hexagon can't get it right, they won't. That was the point of my last post. Just like I am driven to continuously writting front ends and tweaking them and adding features that a monkey would ask for and all you need is a lousy report and B&S does not come through. So here we are, proud of overcoming the all mighty B&S, calling on our armies to take up their keyboards and jointhe fight............................................. .................................................. .................................................. .....................................wait a minute what am I doing?

[craiger_ny]

..........But you CAN'T pick your friend's nose

I accept your challenge and will post a pic if successful.