Re: Excel As Data Entry front-end? (Why / How)
As to "Why?"
This project is for automating large parts of our existing business planning process. Most of this work is done "off-line" with Excel workbooks that are later re-entered into E1 manually. This process is repeated through a variable, though small, number of business plan revision iterations. We'd prefer to continue using Excel as the primary interface becuase this is what the users are most proficient with, and it also offers functionality in the way of macros, formulas, etc...
As to "How"?
From some of the other comments, it sounds like the easiest/most common scenario is to perform a table conversion a using a CSV source file. To do this, I expect the user would have to exit Excel and go into E1 to then initiate that load process.
What I'd like to do is have the user never leave Excel. (I'm comfortable doing some Excel programming). When they're done modifying the workbook, they'd run some Macro that posts the information to a TC buffer table. From there it would go into the appropriate live E1 tables.
What I'm not sure about is whether it's possible for that table conversion from the staging to the live tables to occur without the user logging into the E1 web app. I was thinking of using table triggers on the TC buffer table, but have no experience with them. The other idea would be to have some button in Excel available that would initiate some other E1 extension/integration interface (Web Services, COM, etc...) though I don't have experience with these in E1, either.
Thanks,