What’s New in Office Connector 2.02.0035

Posted 11/12/2009

Enhancements

Added support for using OCRetain with stacked queries.
Implemented a workaround for workbooks that could lock up upon opening. The issue was caused by a limitation in Excel for workbooks containing more than 65K dependencies.

Posted 10/13/2009

Resolves an issue where workbook functions would display zeros after switching data folders.
Resolves an issue where workbook functions would display zeros on machines where Timberline was not installed, even with Save data with report enabled.

Posted 10/05/2009

A bug was identified and fixed where if a row completely disappeared from the query and a brand new row appeared in its place, the input value from the original row would persist.
This version implements a faster method for applying the fill down formula to new rows.

Posted 8/19/2009

This version provides much faster performance for users who utilize “persistent caching”.
Based on the concept of the available-for-purchase “Retain” VBA module, the new OCRetain function has been redesigned for the enterprise and integrated into the core software – at no additional cost to you! Watch the video!
New reports have been added to the launch pad, including JC Job List with Maps and Weather, JC Transactions and PM Lease Expiration List.
There have been many improvements to the usability of the software.

The four possible settings for “Persistent Caching” have been replaced by a single check box, Save data with report.

The “Persistent Caching” feature applied only to workbook function results. Save data with report treats queries and function results as a single, unified concept.
Load times have been drastically reduced.
The progress meter displays real-time updates when the cache is large.

The new workbook function, OCRetain, keeps manually-entered data on the correct rows when an adjacent query is refreshed. No VBA is required to manage the process.
Office Connector workbook functions that do not have a custom wizard now can be conveniently accessed using the Excel Insert Function dialog under the Office Connector 2.x category.
Wizard enhancements

Queries are now inserted with the columns automatically sized to fit the data.
You can now sort the Tables and Fields lists.
The Find feature has been expanded to search the Tables list by table and file name, and search the Fields list by custom description and dictionary name.

Added the FirstRefresh workbook property so you can control if and when Office Connector prompts to refresh data.
Once you have logged in to Timberline using Office Connector, it will no longer prompt for the operator ID and password when changing data folders during a given Excel session. There is a checkbox on the Advanced tab of the Preferences window that you can use to disable this enhancement.
Expanded theOCVersion workbook function to include the version number of both the add-in and the DLL.
Added the TSVersion workbook function to return the Timberline “CD version”.

Operator Selection window now displays the data folder being accessed.
Rearranged the Advanced preferences to improve access to the most commonly-used settings. Also removed some rarely-used settings and added new settings to go along with new features in this release.
Improved labels and added tool tips to the Query and Function Wizards and the Preferences window.

Added a check for over 65336 rows being in the cache for Excel 2003 and prior, and display a message notifying the user that not all of the cache can be saved (but that Excel 2007 and above can save over a million rows).
Changed “Permission Denied” in the Write results report to “Specific Permission Required” to avoid confusing Office Connector module permissions with Timberline and Windows File permissions.
Added a message after the user licenses Office Connector - Write that indicates the need to install the administrator program.

The OCWrapQueryTables macro allows you to use VBA to copy and paste template worksheets that contain queries, and then refresh them without requiring the user to interact with the toolbar.
The OCStoreValues and OCRestoreValues macros allow you to manage OCRetain activity manually.
The OCLogError and OCTrace macros allow you to write your own information to the Office Connector error and trace logs.

Resolved an issue where the license concurrency would not be released until all workbooks were closed.
Resolved an issue where using custom SQL statements or hand-typed filters with workbook functions could cause a workbook to load slowly.
Resolved an issue where the persistent cache could be lost if the last function evaluated prior to saving referenced a missing table (for example, a NEW file that had been posted).
Implemented a faster, case-sensitive cache.
Added error handlers for when Excel passes an ERROR as a parameter to an Office Connector workbook function.
Office Connector now attempts to automatically recover from catastrophic errors (Error 91).
Fixed a bug in the list of In values in the Add Condition window where case insensitivity was leading to “duplicate” errors.
Support section on the System Information report will no longer be blank when the Internet is unreachable.

Has it been a while since your last update? Click here to see what else has been added in the release notes for previous versions.