Exporting to Microsoft Excel and Word

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Exporting to Microsoft Excel and Word
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The export functions are among the most powerful capabilities of ActiCalc. You can quickly build a calculation sequence in ActiCalc, then export it directly to an Excel or Word document. Once the file is transferred to Word, you can use Word's extensive formatting capabilities to beautify the document. When the data is transferred to Excel, you can extend the calculations to create a more sophisticated spreadsheet.

ActiCalc currently supports exporting to the Office97 version of Word and Excel. Some prior versions also work correctly, but are not officially supported.

To send the current tape to either Excel or Word, pull down the File-Send to menu. From there select either Excel or Word. (Alternatively, you can invoke these functions using the menu that appears by right-clicking anywhere on the IntelliTape.) At that point, ActiCalc will launch the Microsoft application (if it is not already running), create a new document, transfer the data, and format it. You can then switch to that application and continue working with the document.

ActiCalc always creates a new document when you use Send To. If you want to merge the ActiCalc data into an existing document, use the cut-and-paste facilities of Word or Excel to accomplish this.

Once the data has been sent to either Word or Excel, it is disconnected from ActiCalc. Any subsequent changes you make in ActiCalc are not reflected in Word/Excel and vice versa.

The data set sent to Excel is more comprehensive than the set sent to Word. The Word version focuses on results, including the 5 columns appearing in the IntelliTape.

The Excel data set contains the 5 ActiCalc columns, plus an additional column for any of the registers you used in your calculations. Moreover, the balance column in the Excel file contains the formulas used to calculate the values, so if you make changes to rows in the Excel spreadsheet, they will be reflected in later rows, just like ActiCalc. You will also notice that active references are maintained in the Excel file. In short, the Excel file is a complete functional replica of the ActiCalc tape.

More about managing files.