Navision-Excel report generator

jjanauskas

I am working on a new Navision/Excel report generator. Later I will post some info to Product Directory (after the release of official Add-On), but meanwhile I thought maybe you could find it usefull. I posted a short description and some screenshots to http://navisionfreak.blogspot.com/2006/03/navision-excel-report-generator.html

Have fun!

Marije_Brummel

What will be the difference with existing products like Jet Reports or Exsion?

jjanauskas

Compared to Jet reports:
1. Reports are runned from Navision (this is very important for end-users)
2. User can select filters in navision style (by AssistButtons)
3. There is possibility to define user defined functions, implement them in navision and use in report
4. The design process takes places in Navision side
5. Does not use C/FRONT, so you do not have to buy this granule
6. All generation is done on Navision side, so it is faster
7. Uses Navision SIFTs, does grouping by keys, you can do a union of several recordsets
8. No special setup (special licences, connection descriptions, login information, etc) needed @ client's computer. Just navision & excel.

kine

Aren't you afraid of version 5? :-)

Marije_Brummel

Yes, this will probably not be nessesairy in the future.

Are you doing this in your free time?

Maybe better find another hobby.

jjanauskas

Navision 5.. Yes, just a little bit

But we will see soon how powerful navision integration with Excel will be. But somehow I feel that in navision 5 you will have just a report export to excel and it will not work perfectly (due to conversion from navision report designer to excel).

About hobbies. Yep, I am making it more or less for fun, of course during my work-hours.

jjanauskas

Take a look here: http://www.mibuso.com/pdinfo.asp?FileID=112

DenSter

NAV 5 will use SQL Server reporting services, which has full integration with Excel.

wakestar

I hope you guys are right with your comments about Navision 5.0 and Office. What I know is just "will have a stronger Office Integration" ... whatever that is... :?

I just wanna add that an Office-Integration (where an end-user can define his own reports in Navision and export to excel) is much easier than letting him (end-user) design his reports with a Report Designer in SQL Server Reporting Services...

DenSter

You can check out how SQL Server Reporting Services integrates with Excel now. We've been told that NAV 5 will use SQL Server Reporting Services, so by extrapolation I am assuming that NAV will then integrate with Excel on that level. Navision has been known though to not expose full functionality, so don't put any real money on it.

It is a mystery to all of us to what extent NAV 5 will integrate with office, and even with which version of office.

themave

kine wrote:

Aren't you afraid of version 5? :-)

I believe there will be a big market for 4.0 add-ons, long after version 5 is introduced. With the complexity of upgrading, it is my belief that very few companies will upgrade to 5.0. and there will still be many that will upgrade to 4.0 from earlier versions. I think if you can make an add-on that would provide some function that will be in 5.0 you could sell to your 4.0 customers that don't want to upgrade, or can't because of the vast customizations they already have in the database. Some of the biggest users of Navision are still back on 2.6 and 3.7 and have no intention of going even to 4.0, much less 5.0.

Just my opinion anyways

themave

DenSter wrote:

......It is a mystery to all of us to what extent NAV 5 will integrate with office, and even with which version of office.

Just my guess, I would say Office 2007 only