Tag Archives: OfficeWriter 8.6

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What’s New in OfficeWriter 8.6

64-bit Support in OfficeWriter Designer

OfficeWriter 8.6 marks the initial release of the OfficeWriter Designer .NET, a redesign of the original OfficeWriter Designer, using the latest technologies and best practices.

DesignerdotNetRibbon

The OfficeWriter Designer .NET is available for both 64-bit and 32-bit Excel and includes:

  • Better user experience with updated dialog boxes
  • Improved access to Report Properties
  • Stronger support for viewing reports with parameters
  • New import template functionality (also available in the original OfficeWriter Designer)

DesignerDotNetNewDialogs

The Designer .NET does not currently have full backwards compatibility with the original OfficeWriter designer. To find out if the Designer .NET will support your reports, review our quick guide or read about all of the differences in full in our documentation.

The OfficeWriter Designer .NET is available for download from our product updates page or through our evaluation sign-up.

Classic Pivot Tables

Starting in OfficeWriter 8.6, you can create PivotTables with the classic grid layout using the PivotTableSettings.ClassLayout property. This is the same as setting the classic layout property under PivotTable options. Continue reading What’s New in OfficeWriter 8.6 →

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Choosing OfficeWriter Designer or Designer .NET

Overview

OfficeWriter Designer is an add-on for Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word that allows users to create new RDL reports and design pre-existing reports inside of Excel or Word. Until OfficeWriter 8.6, the original OfficeWriter Designer was the only tool available with this functionality.

However, as of OfficeWriter 8.6, SoftArtisans will include a second, new version of OfficeWriter Designer called the OfficeWriter Designer .NET. The OfficeWriter Designer .NET is a completely rewritten version of its predecessor, created from .NET/C# using VSTO (Visual Studio Tools for Office run time).

Benefits of OfficeWriter Designer .NET

  • Office 64-bit support
  • No dependencies on COM/VBA
  • More robust handling of modifications to queries in Visual Studio/Report Builder
  • Better parameter support with the View functionality, including support for cascading parameters

Which Designer Should I Use?

The new OfficeWriter Designer .NET does not currently support all of the features of the previous Designer. For full functionality support, use the original OfficeWriter Designer. Please see the feedback section below for more information about submitting requests for new features. Continue reading Choosing OfficeWriter Designer or Designer .NET →