Dale - I had looked at Open Office about a year ago for a different reason. Good package, it has come a long way. If cost were the only issue, I understand why many use it. But IMO, the automation interface one of the main issues.
MS Office has a rich, mature COM interface which is the key to driving it from AB. And, as importantly, there is tons of how-to help for setting up charts, tables, etc. on the web. Lastly, for those that don't have Office, old copies of Office are available at sub-$100 usually. With the goal of allowing the average user to get something going quickly, it seems to me to be the choice. -- BruceR --- In [email protected], dingo <waledi...@...> wrote: > > Bruce, > > Have you looked at Open Office in light of the expense issue? > > d > > On Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 3:16 PM, bruce1r <bru...@...> wrote: > > > > > > > Herman - > > > > I thought that I'd offer what might seem like an unusual answer, that may > > be of general interest and applies to more than the 3D question - > > > > If you can get any chart, include 3D, or something close to what you are > > after in Excel, then use it. > > > > Here's why. I've come full circle. I've spent a not insignificant amount > > of time writing Gfx routines for graphs and tables. In a sense, though, > > much of it is re-inventing visualizations (charts, grids, etc.) that already > > exist in Excel and custom packages (both standalone and Excel add-in). For > > example, consider multi-series bar charts. It was a significant change to > > TJ's original bar chart example, but straightforward (and maybe better) in > > Excel. > > > > So, what are the reasons that Excel might not have been considered - > > > > - Perceived complexity in using the COM model to control it > > - Speed in getting and putting large amounts of data > > - Cost of package > > - Overkill > > > > But, as counter-points, consider - > > > > - All of the Excel COM functions are easily abstracted as AFL functions > > - There is a way using VBScript from AFL to get large amounts of data > > into and out of Excel. For example on a 1.7GHz machine, 1 column of 5000 > > rows -> 28 milliseconds > > - Old versions of Excel in basic Office XP 2002 are approx. $50 on > > EBay, but most people already have a version of Excel > > - Excel may be driving a tack with a sledgehammer, BUT, at least > > prototype what you are after, if possible, in Excel charts and then > > decide > > if it is valuable and merits custom work. IMHO, your time is one of the > > most valuable things to consider. > > > > So, I've found that the quickest approach is to use the well known and > > documented Excel UI to set up the charts and, and just use AB to put data to > > Excel. > > > > I think that sometimes, it is important to just get to the end result as > > quickly as possible. So, if Excel 3D charts will work, let me know and I'll > > show you how. > > > > -- BruceR > > > > > > > > >
