Question

On the application I am currently working on, we need a way for users to generate reports in Microsoft Word or Excel format (export and print).

One of the requirement is that the users would create the report template using a Word or Excel template document.

I ve tried to google a reporting tool that uses word and excel templates for report templates and the only one I found (Windwards) is way too expensive and wouldn t fit our needs. We cannot have a server to generate the reports, so the report would need to be generated directly by the application (Windows Forms).

Answer 1

I think you are to limited in the solution that you search. Why must the template editor based on Word and/or Excel. This both programs are document editors. A template editor based on this programs are very limited and can not produced a good template editor. I see no difference if you call Word or any third party program.

Because reports based in the most cases on data from database that it make sense to install it on the server where the data are.

I think you ask the wrong questions. The more interest question are:

support for my data (DBMS, XML, etc.)
reporting features like sorting, grouping, joining, charts, crosstabs, form print, etc.
needed user experience, should the designer used from the application developer, the network administrator or from the end user. In last case a Ad Hoc reporting is better as a completely reporting designer.

Answer 2

There is kind of an alternative to Windwards reports - Templater.
It s also based on tags, but more lightweight.

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