PMO System’s project management application available at www.PMOSystem.com makes extensive use of ActiveXLS^tm to read and write MS Excel files for reporting and importing data.

PMOSystem^tm provides carefully formatted reports to the user in the MS Excel file format.  Among the most complicated of the reports are the Timesheets for attaching to electronic invoices, and the multi-sheet budget reports that provide all project(s) information in one master MS Excel file.  Additionally, with only a few lines of code, all of the filtered lists support “Export-to-Excel” and “Export-to-CSV”.

In addition to reporting PMOSystem^tm uses ActiveXLS^tm to ease system setup and configuration.  Through the system import screens use ActiveXLS^tm to create a customized data entry excel file complete with default data, drop list selections, field validation and protected cells.  The user reviews and completes the data in the file before uploading it back into the import screen which uses ActiveXLS^tm to open and read the updated excel file into the system and database.  PMOSystem^tm uses this method to allow imports of timesheet data, new resources, and even international translation table imports that are used to display the proper language in the user interface.

Among the most amazing uses of ActiveXLS^tm in PMOSystem^tm is the email based timesheet.  PMOSystem^tm generates and emails a timesheet to selected resources each week.  The timesheet is tailored for each resource.  It includes the resource’s projects, roles, and planned hours by day.  The resource opens the excel file, enters in their hours, and sends the timesheet back to PMOSystem^tm for updating.

ActiveXLS^tm  has allowed PMOSystem^tm to provide project data in useful formats as well as retrieve and import information from the users in a format both man and machine can work with.

IBM’s TransportLens product makes use of ActiveXLS to natively read and write Microsoft compatible XLS files.  During the process of completing shipping RFPs, TransportLens exports huge XLS files that are distributed to and updated by the individual competing Carriers.  Once the Carriers have completed updating all the requested pricing information in Microsoft Excel, they email the spreadsheets back and TransportLens uses ActiveXLS to read the files, validate the contents and store the pricing in the application for consideration of awarding shipping allocation.

Automating the RFP process depended on the versatility and performance requirements required to prepare and process the XLS RFP files.  ActiveXLS provided that versatility and performance, allowing detailed control over the XLS file formatting with such features as protected cells, lookup lists, field validations as well as the ability to handle generating and processing many large files simultaneously quickly with minimum performance impact on the production system.

Cornerstone Relocation Group's TrackStar™ system provides their Relocation Counselors with the tools to quickly and effectively manage premium relocation services. Quickly, because their  transferees who are being relocated often call anxious and in a hurry on a cell phone in front of a real estate lawyer or coordinating their moving crew. Effectively because Cornerstone handles many of the fortune 500's most senior executive relocations. TrackStar™ has been the core of their enterprise initiative to help automate the workforce and their processes. Janelle Piatkowski, Cornerstone's President claims that, "There is not one conversation that I have about our company that does not in some way shape or form come back to TrackStar™. TrackStar™ is truly at the core of our business."

TrackStar™ is built with Active Server Pages (ASP), Microsoft SQL Server a large collection of Crystal Reports, fax generation software, a few XML B2B interfaces, and a tightly coupled interface with Solomon's accounting package.

When TrackStar™ needed to generate large electronic invoice reports (EIRs), they turned to ActiveXLS™. They knew that they needed a tool that would allow them to quickly generate attractively formatted electronic invoices with a lot of data while putting as little additional burden on their servers as possible. They had previously learned that Crystal Reports™ claimed to output an MS Excel format, but those claims turned out to be greatly exaggerated and OLE Automation had a serious impact on the server performance, often locking up and requiring the server to be restarted.

Each day, Cornerstone's accounting staff generate EIRs not with long arduous manually intensive effort as they once did, but with a filter screen and by pressing a button labeled "Generate EIR". The generated MS Excel file is attached to an email along with an electronic invoice and sent to Cornerstone's clients.