The winning formula of any software product rests on its independence from other software. In respect to OfficeWriter, its only dependency is the .NET Framework. In this review, we will look at the latest product offered by SoftArtisans, OfficeWriter. For those who do not know about SoftArtisans, you might want to check its website at www.softartisans.com. The File Upload Component released by SoftArtisans way back in 1997 is still one of the best upload components available today. Let us see whether SoftArtisans has lived up to everybody’s expectation with the release of OfficeWriter.

SoftArtisans OfficeWriter, which combines ExcelWriter and WordWriter, offers pure .NET reporting that generates real Excel and Word reports from your ASP.NET application, without any dependency on Microsoft Office. OfficeWriter works without dependency on the Microsoft Excel and Word objects, which are not required on the server. This avoids the performance penalties and instability otherwise associated with instantiating multiple copies of Excel and Word objects on a web server. OfficeWriter safely generates thousands of Excel workbooks and Word documents for an unlimited number of concurrent users each day.

ExcelWriter is not a visual end-user tool like Microsoft Excel. It is not an ActiveX control that exists on the client. Rather, it generates native Excel files via server-side code.

With OfficeWriter, creating Excel spreadsheets and Word documents has never been so easy. With as little as 12 lines of code, an Excel spreadsheet can be populated with records from a database table (assuming that the template for the Excel spreadsheet has been designed and stored on the server).

In a nutshell, ExcelWriter supports all advanced Excel features such as formulas, charts, pivot tables, VBA, macros, multiple sheets, image insertion, named ranges, page layouts, and more. With WordWriter you can create documents based on a template or create a new document. Also, WordWriter preserves all native Word formatting and styles, and advanced features from Word 97-2003 documents with expanding tables, bulleted lists, and numbered lists. OfficeWriter is the only reporting software that delivers fully-functional Excel and Word output, so your users won't have to sacrifice their macros, pivot tables, and dynamic charts every time they request new data.

Using the ExcelWriter, it just takes the following lines of code, in VB.NET, to create an Excel file based on a template.

Dim oExcelTemplate As New ExcelTemplate
Dim myRdr As SqlDataReader
Dim ConnStr As String = ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings("ConnectionString")
Dim myConnection As SqlConnection = New SqlConnection(ConnStr)
Dim myCommand As SqlCommand = New SqlCommand("sp_authors_sel", myConnection)
Dim myAdapter As New SqlDataAdapter(myCommand)
Dim AuthDt As New DataTable
myAdapter.Fill(AuthDt)
oExcelTemplate.Open("c:\inetpub\wwwroot\writer\Excel\auth_template.xls")
oExcelTemplate.SetDataSource(AuthDt, "authors")
oExcelTemplate.Process()
oExcelTemplate.Save("c:\inetpub\wwwroot\writer\Excel\auth_output.xls")

It took me around 15 minutes to write the above code. This included creating the stored procedure, sp_authors_sel, which simply dumps all rows from the author table under the pubs database in SQL Server 2000, and creating the template file shown in Figure 1.

All we are doing here is executing a stored procedure and creating a new Excel file based on the template, auth_template.xls. The file path in the above example can also be a virtual path rather than a physical path. Instead of saving the new file in the server, you could also stream the output as an HTTP response to the client machine.

A Word document can be created with the help of following VB.NET code:

Dim NamesArr As String() = {"Name", "Company", "DateTime"}
' Form an array containg the values to be inserted 
Dim ValuesArr As Object() = {recipName, recipCompany, System.DateTime.Now}
' Create an instance of WordTemplate 
Dim wt As WordTemplate = New WordTemplate
' Open the template document 
Dim templatePath As String = Page.MapPath("templates/BasicTemplate.doc")
wt.Open(templatePath)
' Set the main data source with the Name and Value arrays 
wt.SetDataSource(ValuesArr, NamesArr)
' Populate the template to pull in the new values 
wt.Process()
' Save the document by streaming it
wt.Save(Page.Response, "BasicWordTemplate.doc", False)

OfficeWriter is available in two different editions, built to produce real Excel spreadsheets and Word documents, for both standard and enterprise reporting applications.

With OfficeWriter Standard Edition, the following tasks can be achieved.

a)     Open and populate existing reports

b)     Update charts and formulas

c)     Security with macros

d)     Reporting Services designed and rendered

The Standard Edition always needs a template file to work with. So, you cannot create an Excel file without having a template file. If you want to create a new Excel file based on the output of a database table, then you need to have a template file with corresponding markers. OfficeWriter Standard edition is for high-volume Office applications that do not require runtime control of intricate Excel and Word features.

Enterprise Edition supports all the features of Standard Edition, and the following:

a)     Create new reports programmatically

b)     Modify file formats and styles

c)     Read data from Excel files

d)     Construct charts and formulas

One of the richest features available in Enterprise Edition is its HotCell Technology. HotCell Technology and OfficeWriter Assistant provide a live connect back to a server-side data source directly from an Excel spreadsheet or Word document. It uses VBA code embedded in the spreadsheet or document on the client to communicate with code running on a remote Web server. In the case of OfficeWriter for Excel, the VBA code detects when changes have been made to worksheet cells. The value of each modified cell is then submitted to the server to update the data source. HotCell Technology is supported only in the Enterprise edition.

The above-mentioned features are only a few of the complete features supported by the Standard and Enterprise Editions.

Report Design Made Simple

Reporting Services reports can now be designed by end users directly in Microsoft Excel and Word, avoiding report design tools, like Visual Studio .NET, that are unfamiliar to business users. After creating your reports with the OfficeWriter Designer--a freely-distributed client side toolbar--there is no need to switch from Microsoft Office to a browser to generate reports. The OfficeWriter Designer generates true Reporting Services reports (RDL files) but, unlike Reporting Services’ Excel output, all Excel features are preserved by OfficeWriter.

Without OfficeWriter, Reporting Services cannot deliver reports in Microsoft Word format. Documents rendered by OfficeWriter preserve all of the Word features contained in the user’s existing Word template.

SQL Server Reporting Services integration is packaged with OfficeWriter Enterprise Edition. OfficeWriter Standard Edition includes limited Reporting Services integration functionality. There are no per-user costs with OfficeWriter. It is licensed per server CPU.

Developer Editions

OfficeWriterEE Developer offers the same functionality as OfficeWriter Enterprise Edition, but is limited to only a single report created at one time, which is typical of the development environment. Other restrictions may apply. (Pricing is $299 per development server/workstation.)

OfficeWriterSE Developer offers the same functionality as OfficeWriterSE, but is limited to only a single report created at one time. Other restrictions may apply. (Pricing is $99 per development server/workstation.)

Evaluation Editions

OfficeWriterFREE edition provides similar functionality to OfficeWriterSE, but is limited to 500 rows per worksheet (Excel) and 1 row per data source (Word). Every workbook and document contains a worksheet or document page with a SoftArtisans OfficeWriter advertisement

OfficeWriter Enterprise Edition Evaluation is the expiring evaluation of the full server edition of OfficeWriter Enterprise Edition. Contact SoftArtisans to receive the full evaluation of OfficeWriter Enterprise Edition.

Both the Enterprise Edition and the Standard Edition require one license for each CPU on the servers where OfficeWriter is deployed. As of writing the review, the pricing for the Standard Edition was US $1495 per server CPU. Pricing figures for OfficeWriter Enterprise Edition are not published. I encourage evaluators and potential customers to contact SoftArtisans Sales Department for a customized price quote based on their server configuration and needs. If you tell the SoftArtisans sales department that you are buying OfficeWriter after reading this review, you will get an amazing 20% off the published price. Based on the above price, if you buy the Standard Edition OfficeWriter, you will save around $300. To get detailed pricing information for the Enterprise Edition, please contact SoftArtisans using any one of the following ways.

E-mail: sales@softartisans.com

Toll Free: 1(877)SOFTART (or 763-8278), option 1

International: +1(617)607-8800, option 1

The feature that I liked most about the OfficeWriter is that we do not need the Microsoft Office product to be installed on the server. The very reason that we can create Excel spreadsheets and Word documents on the fly without having Microsoft Office components adds more importance to the OfficeWriter product. Also, the licensing and pricing model is very competitive. OfficeWriter is a good product for an Intranet application that relies on Excel spreadsheets and Word documents. The HotCell Technology is an unbeatable feature which has a great advantage in pulling the latest data from the server and updating the data back to the server without actually transferring any files back and forth.