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<br /> Spreadsheet Integration - 1 <br />10 Spreadsheet Integration <br />Version 1 0.20 .0 0 , 20 1 3 -0 3 -30 <br /> <br />TSTool and spreadsheet software offer many similar capabilities . However, there are significant <br />differences in the software features and approaches to structuring and processing data . It may be <br />appropriate to use one tool and not the other for certain tasks. And , it also may be appropriate to use the <br />tools in conjunction (whether in sequence or in parallel ). This ch apter pro vides a comparison of TSTool <br />and Microsoft Excel and describes how they can be integrated. Microsoft Excel is the spreadsheet o f <br />choice in this chapter; however, other spreadsheet software, such as Open Office Calc, a re similar, in <br />particula r when *.xls , *.xlsx , and *.csv file formats are used. Common TSTool a nd Excel integration <br />needs include : <br /> <br />• How can Microsoft Excel be executed from TSTool? <br />• How can TSTool be executed from Excel? <br />• How can data in an Ex cel file be extracted (pulled) by TSTool? <br />• How can data in TSTool be inserted (pushed) into an Excel file? <br />• How can data produced by TSTool be imported (pulled) into an Excel file? <br />• How can data produced by Excel be exported (pushed) into a TSTool file? <br />• How c an TSTool results (e.g., charts and formatted reports) be made to look “more like Excel” <br />(this may be related to functionality or simply a cosmetic preference for Excel) <br /> <br />Integrating TSTool with Excel can be challenging because: <br /> <br />• TSTool software is written in Java and Excel uses Microsoft Technologies – the toolkits for <br />integration are different and involve different knowledge and skills <br />• Excel file formats may be binary , often are complex , and f orma t s may not have clear <br />documentation (it often is necessary to reverse engineer Microsoft formats ) and <br />• The complexity of Excel files make it difficult to simply manipulate the files and therefore <br />libraries need to be used to retain the integrity of the file s <br /> <br />TSTool and Excel can be run in sequence to perform data processing. This approach can involve manual <br />or automated execution. Both approaches require appropriate integration, whether using intermediate <br />data files or direct connections, and direct connections must ensure that sufficient error handling is in <br />place. <br /> <br />Many software developers and use r s face the challenges of integrating their software with Excel and <br />vari ous solutions are available. The appropriateness of any approach depends on the specific need and <br />technologies that are available. This remainder of this chapter explains how to integrate TSTool with <br />Exc el, and will be expanded as successful techniques are confirmed . The focus is on recent software <br />versions and technologies. <br /> <br />10 .1 TSTool and Excel Comparison <br /> <br />The following table compares features of TSTool and Excel. In summary: <br /> <br />• TSTool processes data u sing a sequential workflow of commands, whereas Excel processes data <br />using an internal solver that understands data dependenc ies . <br />129