XLReporter

Demonstration
Version 12.3

SyTech, Inc.

The Complete Reporting Solution

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Contents
XLReporter 4
Welcome ....................................................................................................................................4
About the Demonstration Project ...............................................................................................4

Setup 5
Installation ..................................................................................................................................5
Registration ................................................................................................................................5
User Accounts ............................................................................................................................5

Viewing Reports 6
Overview ....................................................................................................................................6

Interactive Reports 7
Overview ....................................................................................................................................7
Basin Reports (with Manual Data) .............................................................................................8
Batch Summary ..........................................................................................................................9
Control Chart............................................................................................................................10
Line Charts ...............................................................................................................................11
MA Regulatory Report .............................................................................................................12
Pareto Chart (with Histogram) .................................................................................................13
Process Analysis (with Integrated Charts) ...............................................................................14
Process Report (with Alarms) ..................................................................................................15
Text File Reports (Line Charts) ...............................................................................................16

Interactive Forms 17
Overview ..................................................................................................................................17
Basin Data ................................................................................................................................18
Basin Solids..............................................................................................................................19
Daily Turbidity .........................................................................................................................20

Hands on Presentation 21
Overview ..................................................................................................................................21
Create a Template Layout ........................................................................................................21
Add a Data Connection ............................................................................................................22
Set the Naming Convention .....................................................................................................24
Report from a Schedule ............................................................................................................25
Report Interactively ..................................................................................................................26
Backfilling Reports (optional) ..................................................................................................26
Publishing Reports (optional)...................................................................................................27
XLReporter

Welcome
XLReporter is an out-of-the-box solution to turn raw data into polished reports in Excel, PDF and
Web formats and distribute them via email, mobile device and much more. Reports can be produced
automatically or on-demand from a single workstation to any place in the organization.

A powerful feature of XLReporter is the template Design Studio built into Microsoft Excel to
harness all the features of Excel along with XLReporter functions specifically designed for industrial
reporting.

Excel, PDF and Web reports are produced using proprietary technology so no additional software is
required on a target system.

About the Demonstration Project

The demonstration project provides a set of form and report templates to demonstrate many of the
features provided by XLReporter. Some of the templates use a database which has data from October
1, 2015.

Two types of templates are provided:

Form Templates
Form templates are used to store manually entered data to a database (an Access database is
provided for this purpose).

Report Templates
Report templates use XLReporters simulation driver as their data source. They are intended
to demonstrate how to report on data from historians like GE Intelligent Platforms Proficy
Historian, DeltaV Historian, Wonderware Historian, Rockwell Software FactoryTalk
Historian SE, Canary Labs Historian, KEPServerEX Local Historian and Siemens
WinCC/PCS7 as well as graphic terminals like Rockwell Automation PanelView Plus,
portable measuring devices and laboratory test results.

All the report templates in the project are configured as interactive reports.
Setup

Installation
With XLReporter Version 12, the demonstration project is part of the installation.

From the Start Menu, select XLReporter, Project Explorer. If this is your first time, the
demonstration project is loaded by default. If this is not the first time, select File, Open Project, open
the XLR_Demo project which is installed in the folder c:\XLRprojects\XLR_Demo and select
XLRproject.prj.

The Project Explorer shows all the configuration files of the project with access to applications for
designing and testing report templates.

Registration
From the Home tab, select Register Product.

In Registration
Specify First Name, Last Name and Company.
Click Start Trial to enable the product for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, you can extend the trial for another 2 hours by returning to Registration and clicking
Extend Trial. This can be done multiple times.

In evaluation mode, sufficient modules are enabled to demonstrate the product. If your customer is
performing an evaluation, make sure you direct their attention to the step by step exercises provided in
the Getting Results document which is opened in the Project Explorer by selecting Documentation,
Getting Results.

User Accounts
XLReporter uses permission levels to limit user access to features. Each user is made a member of a
Group and each Group is assigned rights.
This project does not have security enabled so all users have access to all features. To enable security
and add or edit accounts, select the Project tab, User Accounts.
Viewing Reports

Overview
Viewers are used to view reports produced in Excel, PDF and Web formats. They are opened from the
desktop, a mobile device, a HMI screen or from a workstation across the network.

Key Features
The Viewers are secure, manage any editing and avoid the need to deploy third party applications such
as Adobe Reader.

Demonstrate
From the Home tab, select either Workbook Reports or PDF Reports to show the provided reports.
In Workbook Reports (reports in xlsx), there are 2 Scheduled reports; Refinery Monthly and Energy
Consumption which can be selected from the left pane, under Name.
In PDF Reports (reports in pdf), there are 2 Scheduled reports; OEE Monthly Overview and
EnergyConsomption.
Interactive Reports

Overview
Interactive templates are used to produce reports on-demand. They are opened from the desktop, a
mobile device, a HMI screen or from a workstation across the network.

From the Home tab, select On-Demand Reports.

The display shows the templates of the project configured for interactive reporting. When a template
is selected, the input panels display the configuration in the template. Entering values in the input
panels is a way to customize the report displayed. The Report is updated by clicking Refresh.

To store a copy of the input settings, click Instance and provide a Name and Description. The
instance will appear as a branch under the template name and is used to reload settings.

The Save, Print and Email menu options are used to distribute the report.

Save
Save in PDF or Excel format to either the Project folder (see Project, Settings) or a Specific
folder. In the case of a Team client, the Project folder will be where the Team server is
installed.

Email
Email as PDF or Excel attachments to an email group (see Tools, Email and SMS). Note
that emails can contain variables such as date and tags which get resolved at the moment the
email is sent.
Basin Reports (with Manual Data)
This template is used to display daily summary data from a continuous historian and manual
observation data collected using the Basin Data form. The form is discussed later in the Interactive
Forms chapter.

Key Features
Manually entered data and the daily summary values from the historian are aligned into a single report.

Demonstrate
Before demonstrating this report, you should first demonstrate the Basin Data form and store values
for a few days of a specific month (see Interactive Forms chapter).

Select the Month for the data entered and click Refresh to generate the report. You should see daily
summary data from the continuous historian aligned with the manual data you entered for each day of
the specified month.
Batch Summary
This template is used to produce a summary report of one or more batches selected. It demonstrates
data collection from the historian between a start event and an end event.

Key Features
The report demonstrates how to generate reports from the historian for a time period starting and
ending on events e.g., the start/end of a batch or the start/stop of a pump.

The report gets the time frame from a database to retrieve data from the historian. The database can be
populated by a third party (Batch historian) or from XLReporters analytics (which monitors the
process for the events of interest).

Since the time period of each batch is different, Data Management functions (provided by
XLReporter) adjust all the formula and charts in the report to reflect the number of rows of data
returned.

Multiple batch reports can be generated in a single session. The Summary report worksheet contains
summary values for each batch selected for easy comparison.

Demonstrate
To demonstrate this template, select one or more batches and click Refresh. A new worksheet tab for
each batch appears, each with the lot number. The formula and charts are maintained by Data
Management so they only consider the rows of data returned.

Select the Summary worksheet to show a summary of all the batches run during the session.
Control Chart
This template is used to demonstrate the powerful SPC capability of XLReporter. An Xbar and
Range of a tag selected for specific day is provided as an example.

Key Features
The report is an example of how XLReporter harnesses the SPC capabilities of Excel.

Demonstrate
Select the Date and Tag and click Refresh to generate the report. The data from the continuous
historian appears below the charts and statistical tables. The rows that contain data can be hidden from
the user to simplify the display. They have been left visible here for demonstration purposes.
Line Charts
This template is used to demonstrate the diverse charting capability of XLReporter. A line chart is
provided as an example.

Key Features
The template contains two tabs, Chart that displays the trends and Data that receives the data from the
historian. The input consists of a Date Navigation panel and a Tag panel.

The Tag panel can show a full list of tags or a Tag Catalog which is a filtered list of tags compiled
during the design of the template. The advantage of a catalog over a full list is that the user is not
overwhelmed with tags which have no meaning for the template e.g., a Temperature Profile report
needs the tags that represent a temperature.

Demonstrate
Select one or more tags, a time frame and click Refresh. Using the navigation controls in the Date
panel to navigate to new timeframes.
MA Regulatory Report
This template is used to demonstrate the ease in which XLReporter can take advantage of existing
Excel templates such as State reports that are readily available on their web sites, without having to
reproduce a template. The monthly regulatory report for drinking water for Massachusetts is provided
as an example.

Key Features
The template is imported from the MA State website. In addition to the worksheets provided by the
state, two additional worksheets are added to the template, Setup and Summary.
The Setup sheet is used for data which appears in the header of every worksheet of the book, linked
across the worksheets using Excel formulas.
The Summary worksheet is where data is retrieved for the reports. The report worksheets have links to
Summary worksheet so the data is displayed where it should be in the report.

Demonstrate
Select the Month and Year from the controls and click Refresh. Each report worksheet provided by
the state is populated with data derived from the Summary worksheet.

Show that on Form_G the monthly data is laid out in a non-standard format and is displayed correctly
in XLReporter by linking the layout to the Summary sheet.

After generating the report, it can be saved as an Excel file by clicking the Save icon so it can be
submitted to the regulatory agency.
Pareto Chart (with Histogram)
This template is used to demonstrate the advanced analysis provided by XLReporter. A Pareto Chart
and Histogram is provided as the example.

Key Features
A Pareto chart is to highlight the most important among a (typically large) set of factors. In quality
control, it often represents the most common sources of defects, the highest occurring type of defect, or
the most frequent reasons for customer complaints. In alarm analysis, the chart could show a count of
the ten most frequent alarms.

This template consists of 2 worksheets; Report and Data. The Report sheet shows a Pareto chart for 4
tags. The histogram data, such as the frequencies, is calculated by XLReporter based on sampled
values retrieved from a continuous historian.

The template shows support for tag names in other languages.

Demonstrate
Set the Start and End times then select up to 4 tags and click Refresh to generate the report.
Process Analysis (with Integrated Charts)
This template demonstrates feature provided by XLReporter that goes beyond Excel. It demonstrates
the Data Management presentation function which can take a collection of Excel items and insert
them periodically into data provided by a historian.

Key Features
At designated intervals (every four hours in this case), a collection consisting of a chart and formula is
inserted into data retrieved from the continuous historian. Each collection is rewired to the data
preceding it so the formula represent four hour averages and the chart shows the chart for the
preceding four hours.
An outline is also applied (shown by [1] [2] with [+] [-] on the left of the report) so the details can be
shown or hidden.

Demonstrate
Specify the Start and End times and click Refresh. To properly demonstrate the functionality, be sure
the Start and End are at least one day apart. Click the [1] and [2] buttons at the top, left of the report
to demonstrate how to show and hide the sampled data.
Process Report (with Alarms)
This template demonstrates a feature provided by XLReporter that goes beyond Excel. It
demonstrates the Data Management presentation on how to retrieve data from two disparate sources
and combine them for the report. Combining historical data with alarms recorded in a database is
provided as an example.

Key Features
The report displays information from both the continuous historian and alarms database. The
information is weaved into a single table based on the date and time.

For clarity, the alarm records are conditionally formatted in a color to reflect the alarm state. Excel
outlining ([+] and [-] on the left of the report) is applied to the alarm data so it can be easily shown or
hidden by the user.

Demonstrate
Specify the Start date and click Refresh. Click the [1] and [2] buttons at the top, left of the report to
demonstrate how to show and hide the alarm data.
Text File Reports (Line Charts)
This report is used to retrieve information from text files created by portable measuring instruments,
graphic terminals and data recorders. When text files are produced periodically, XLReporters
stitching technology makes them appear as a single entity so raw and summary values can be
retrieved over any timeframe.

Key Features
Text files are usually produced on data logging devices such as the Panel View Plus. As the first step
in using them, XLReporter can synchronize the files from the device to a central location through an
FTP file transfer or across the network. This can be scheduled to happen periodically to ensure that the
files are stored in a permanent location before they are overwritten on the device.

As files are transferred, a tag catalog is maintained from their content and used in a tag browser.

As well as raw values, summary values and aggregates such as average, minimum and maximum are
available.

Demonstrate
Specify the Start and End times then select up to 6 tags and click Refresh to generate the report.
Valid dates are October 1st October 21st 2015 corresponding to the daily text (CSV) files provided
within the project. When specifying the Start and End, span multiple days to demonstrate that
XLReporter can stitch the files.
Interactive Forms

Overview
Interactive forms provide collect and store manual data in a relational database so it can be used as a
data source for reporting. The forms are opened from the desktop, a mobile device, a HMI screen or
from a workstation across the network.

XLReporter provides database management tools (for more complex management, use an application
such as SQL Management Studio).

From the Tools tab, select Database Manager to add new or modify existing tables in the database.

The management of the database is done without requiring any special skills and knowledge of SQL
programming. For a database not listed, select New Connector and locate the database.

To open Interactive Forms from the Home tab, select Data Entry Forms.
Basin Data
This template is used to enter daily observational data like the weather, outside temperature and
general comments. The data collected is used in the Basin Summary report.

Key Features
To ensure consistency, some of the cells in this form are configured with drop down lists. For example,
the Operator Name has a drop down list of all the available operators. This is configured in the
template using Excels data validation.

Cells may be designated as required fields so they cannot be stored until values are entered for these
cells. These cells appear red until they are given a value such as the Operator Name.

When a form is Locked, edits can only be performed when it is unlocked by an administrator.

Demonstrate
Select the Day for the form by either using the control or the navigation buttons; left and right arrows.
If you selected the Day using the control, click Refresh to load any data that may already be stored for
that day. Fill the form and click Store to store the values to the database. Use the navigation buttons to
move off the day and then back to it to demonstrate that the data is reloaded with stored data.
Basin Solids
This template is used to enter laboratory measurements.

Key Features
The form consists of manual data and formulas that derive additional information from the manually
entered data. Only the cells designed for manual data (colored blue in the form) can be edited by the
user. This means that the user cannot alter any of the formulas embedded in the form (colored yellow
in the form).

Demonstrate
Select the Day for the form by either using the control or the navigation buttons; left and right arrows.
If you selected the Day using the control, click Refresh to load any data that may already be stored for
that day. Specify all the fields colored in blue and click Store to store the values to the database. Use
the navigation buttons to move off the day and then back to it to demonstrate that the data is reloaded
with the stored data.

The entire form does not have to be filled out at one time. Partially fill out and store it, then return back
to it and fill out more of the record.
Daily Turbidity
This template is used to enter turbidity values from filters in the facility every four hours over the day.

Key Features
The columnar format of this form makes it easy to enter one or more records at one time.
In addition to the manual data entered by the user, the maximum value for each record is calculated
using an embedded formula and this is also stored.

Demonstrate
Select the Day for the form by either using the control or the navigation buttons; left and right arrows.
If you selected the Day using the control, click Refresh to load any data that may already be stored for
that day. Specify values for the cells colored in blue and click Store to store the values to the database.
Hands on Presentation

Overview
This chapter describes how to demonstrate how easy it is to develop a template (from scratch) to
automatically generated a report every day, stored in a monthly workbook.

The steps are:

Create a template layout
Add a data connection to the historian
Set the naming convention for the produced report
Report from a schedule
Report interactively
Backfilling reports (optional)
Publishing reports (optional)

Create a Template Layout

From the Home tab of the Project Explorer, select Template, Studio to open Excel.

From the ribbon menu of XLReporter, select Template, New.

For the Name, enter DailyReport and click OK.

Layout the report similar to the following making sure to enter text in the same cells:

The formula in rows 30 and 31 are something like =MAX(C5:C28) and =MIN(C5:C28).
Add a Data Connection
Select cell B5, this is where the data is to be placed. From the ribbon menu of XLReporter, select
Data, Connect. Connection dialog can be resized or moved around by clicking a triangle next to the
X button on the top right corner. It can also be dragged to the place you would like it to be.

The template connections grid shows all the connections in the template which, at this point, should be
empty. Note that the Placement settings are pre-filled with the cell selected when the dialog was
opened.

In general, when a cell reference is required as a setting, place the cursor in the text field and then
select the cell on the worksheet. This can avoid mistakes.

Under Source, change the Connector to XLR_History. Note that the Data tab of the Project Explorer
is where a connector to your historian can be defined. For Name, click the browse button [] to
define the history values for the template.

For the XLR_History connector, the following history group types are possible. The degree of choices
will vary according to the connector.

Select Summary Values from XLReporter and click OK.

Under the Columns tab, click the button under Name, and select the tags in Tag Browser. >>
button in Tag Browser selects all the tags in the category. Set calculation. In our case the Mixer tags
are selected with the calculation of Average.

Under Time Period, the default Period is a day with an Interval Every 1 hour. This creates 24
intervals over which an Average will be computed.

From the menu, click Preview. Enter a date and click Refresh to validate the history group settings.
Close Preview to return to the history group.

Select File, Save and enter DailyReport for the Name. Click OK.

Close the history group and return to the Connections dialog

Click Add to add the settings from the left view into the grid.

From the ribbon menu of XLReporter, select Template, Save.

Set the Naming Convention
Since the report is produced automatically, a naming convention is required for both the workbook and
worksheet(s). From the ribbon menu of XLReporter, select Settings, Report Names.

Set the names appropriate for a monthly workbook and daily sheets. Double-click the empty field
under Report to open a dialog to enter the name. We will use DailyReport_{YYYY}-{MMM} for the
workbook and {DD} for the worksheet. We do not want the report overwritten when a new report is
generated. So uncheck Allow Target Overwrite.
Report from a Schedule
The report is produced automatically by the built-in scheduler. From the ribbon menu of XLReporter,
select Settings, Schedule.

Click Add to add a new schedule.

The template is scheduled at 12:15 every morning, to produce a report for the previous day. This is
achieved by selecting Daily under Time, setting the Time to 12:15:00 and the Action Time
Adjustment to 1 day. In Worksheet, select DailyReport.xlsx Template by clicking the button. This
demonstrates how to produce a report that uses naming convention and the data from the previous day.
Click OK.

The schedule is complete and can be started from the menu option Scheduler, Start.
Report Interactively
The report is produced interactively from the On-Demand Reports application using the template you
have just created. From the Project Explorer, Home tab, select Interactive, On-Demand Reports.

Backfilling Reports (optional)

A powerful features of the scheduler is the report backfill option to backfill missed reports. From the
Project tab of the Project Explorer, select Schedule Designer.

With the schedule configured selected, click Tools, Report Backfill. From the Backfill Clock
Settings configure the following:

Click OK and then Start to start the backfill.

View the completed reports from Project Explorer using the Workbook Reports option.
Publishing Reports (optional)
To get the reports to a wider audience, XLReporter provides many options including publishing to
web pages, encrypted PDF files, emailing reports as file attachments, copying reports to a file server,
uploading reports to an FTP server and many more. This is accomplished by adding additional
commands to the scheduler.

To create web reports, add the following to the scheduler

Run Backfill again for the same date range but this time view the completed reports from Project
Explorer using the Web Pages option.