'Nice Looking' Report based on Excel Data

[Mike Reisinger]

I am using Excel to track open positions in my HR office. Currently, we use
Excel to track the positions, and then everyday, manual update a Word
document of the open positions so we can hand it out to the public (the Word
docs looks nicer than all the data). The problem is sometimes we forget to
add a position or remove the position when filled.

Can I take the data in Excel and have it output a nice (or decent) looking
report?

The data is set up with DEPARTMENT and POSITION. I would like all positions
in a similiar Deparment to be together. Also, sometimes, we have more than
1 of the same position available...which shows on my Excel sheet, but the
public does not need to see or know this.

Help...we are not running very efficient!
Mike

 

[Earl Kiosterud]

Mike,

Are you pasting the Excel stuff into Word? You may be able to Paste-Link
it; it'll stay up to date with the Excel data that way. If you have Access,
you can set up a linked table with Excel, then make a report (printout).
Very flexible layouts, and it'll be linked.

 

[Arvi Laanemets]

Hi

Store all (variable) data needed to compose the Word document in a single
Excel table. The table must have the header row with column names at top,
and there mustn't be any gaps (entirely empty rows or columns) in your
table. And the best is, the worksheet with table is the first one in
workbook, or even single one.

After you saved the Excel table, open Word, or activate it and create a new
document. From menu, and then select Tools.MailMerge from Word menu.
Create a main document (I think you have to select 'Form Letters') in active
window
Press 'Get Data' button, select 'Open Data Source', and set type to *.xls.
Select the workbook with your table and press 'Open', and then select
'Entire Spreadsheet'. Press 'Edit Main Document' button
Type in any permanent text. Anytime when you need to insert contents of
excel table into your text, place the cursor into inserting point, select
from toolbar at top of window 'Insert Merge Field', and select the
field/column name, you want to insert.
When you are finished with designing of main document, select again
Tools.MailMerge, and press Merge button. Now you can set up some things,
like output media (to file, to printer, to mail), filters (from 'Query
Options' button) etc. When finished with setup, press Merge button, and for
every selected row in your table is created a n-sheet document.
When you save the created main document, you can open it anytime later, and
print new documents based on your table (which you probably have updated
meanwhile)

 

[Francis Dion]

You might also want to investigate XpertDoc as an alternative to using
MS-Word mail merge. It gives you more flexibility in the design of
your "nice" document, and more control over the data that is embedded
in the report.

You can check it out at www.xpertdoc.com

 

[Earl Kiosterud]

I think all the information to appear in each mail-merge document must be in
one record (one row) of the Excel sheet. Mail merge is used to make
multiple documents, each with information plugged in from a row of the data
source table. I don't think that's what the OP wants, though it's not
clear. I think he wants one document with a list of stuff from the Excel
sheet, which changes.