>>
>>This is exactly what XFRX does, and this is more or less only way it can be done. By creating myriad of columns / rows.
>>This is due to nature of excel, and nothing can be done about it. (Unless you export it as pictures)
>>Do you want to tell me that in NET/SSRS reporting you can create complex report (absolute positioning for instance) and have it exported to distinct excel rows/cells directly ??
>
>Yes. In NET/SSRS reporting, it converts report to Excel format the way expected it to be. Of course the formulas are not available, but the positioning in columns/rows or the exact cell is to me acceptable and way way beyond what XFRX does.

From what I remember seeing in NET reporting samples were usually 'dummy' list type reports, or trivial parent>detail
reports. Did you try exporting some more complex layouts to excel ? Let say you have multiple band sections where
upper detail columns have different left to right positioning then lower detail and you have object in headers and footers
that are freely scattered around (absolute positioning within band itself).
I wander what 'magic wound' SSRS is using to create excel layout that shows this exactly in the same way it would appear on paper.

Martin undertook great deal of effort to provide that complicated excel output, and I have great admiration for this. What I would personally like to see on XFRX is not 'better excel export' but instead some sort of markup on report fields in FRX (VFP9 have great flexibility in this respect), which would limit excel exports to only certain report objects.
So instead of exporting every little detail off the report surface in exact positioning, to export only 'bare bones' of a report
which is detail columns and certain total fields. I believe we would get much more of a useful excel exports then it is case now.
Something similar to simple text report output but in excel and controllable by programmer .

>
>>
>>I use XFRX for some report exports, but when it comes to excel I code my reports using excel wrapper class in order to take full advantage of formulas, subtotaling, autofiltering etc. Otherwise I see no point in exporting report to excel.
>>If it is just for emailing/printing purposes then PDF is much better option, if it is for further processing/caculations in excel
>>then there is simply 'no free lunch'. You either do plain export as Metin does, or roll up your sleeves and create
>>custom shape excel report. What I normally do is use predefined excel template with certain forumulas and formatting
>>already in place, and then just poke data into predefined sections. Results you get is much more valuable then any printed report can possibly give you. Your users are just going to love you for this :)
>
>You have a point, but you can just imagine creating excel template in every report i wish to convert? I don't know the exact reasons why customers are asking for this feature. And we're saying sorry so far if we can't do it in VFP apps. These projects are legacy apps at best because we already stopped deploying VFP apps starting half of this year. But the VFP app was deployed in over 130 hospitals nationwide as opposed to 10+ .Net app deployment.

Not for every report. But certain important reports have much greater value when sent to smarted-up excel file, then dead on paper
(Or PDF for that matter) I provide only those. For those dull reports without much of a substance, they get 'no' in various shapes and forms ;-))

At 130 to 10 your bread and butter is still VFP, so you can always show them some more love :)