Customizing SOLIDWORKS Inspection Reports – Part 2

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SOLIDWORKS Inspection Reports

How to Add a Report Footer Row Using the Template Editor

SOLIDWORKS Inspection Logo

Written by: Gordon Pursel, Application Engineer, DASI Solutions

Miss Part 1 introducing the Inspection Report Editor? View it here.

When creating a FAIR form, a common consideration is allowing for an ever-changing number of dimensional characteristic numbers from one project to the next. Meaning, the project of today may require a form with 20 rows and tomorrow’s form may require 300 rows to record dimensional characteristics. To make little of this challenge, SOLIDWORKS Inspection provides a simple to use yet powerful built-in template editor function called the “Footer Row Function”.

When the Footer Row Function is defined in the inspection report template, the exact number of rows, accounting for all dimensional characteristics, will be automatically inserted when the report is exported. This means rows will be added if needed and empty rows will be deleted when they are not, with no manual excel formatting required.

By automatically handling this tedious task of adding, deleting and formatting rows you’ll save time while feeling confident the report is accounting for all dimensional characteristics found in the inspection project. Additionally, the Footer Row Function closes the form with a professional and consistent looking footer as any formatting on or after the Footer Row Function will appear at the bottom of the report.

If you’d like to learn how to use the Footer Row Function follow the steps listed below.

Defining the Footer Row Function

  1. Open your report template with the SOLIDWORKS Inspection Template Editor from within the Inspection standalone application or within the SOLIDWORKS Inspection Add-In, then select an excel template. The Template Editor will prompt you to open a Microsoft Excel Template, for this exercise select a pre-installed template. To use an existing company standard inspection report, first save the Excel report as a Microsoft Excel Template (.xlt).
    1. Select the row that you want to immediately appear after all exported dimensional characteristics. For example, click on the first row of fields that will be in your footer and highlight the entire row by clicking on the number of the row in Excel. In the below image row 11 has been selected.SOLIDWORKS Inspection Report Template
      SOLIDWORKS Inspection Report Template
    2. Click the Formulas tab in Excel and click on Define Name. In this example, we will define a name for the cells within row 11. The Name Manager button can later be used to edit and delete the name or add a comment.Excel Formula Tab
    3. Enter “IXFooterRow” exactly as it appears here with the upper and lower case letters and no spaces, and enter three numbers after that (e.g. “001”) and click OK. The three numbers allow you to enter the Footer Row Function on multiple sheets in your Excel Report Template, by simply changing the number.Footer Row
      • Verify the name was created correctly by selecting the footer row number (row 11 in this example). The Row Name “IFXFooterRow003” should be seen in the Name Box which is located on the left side of the Formula Bar.

Inspection Report Name Box

  1. When you are finished entering your Footer Rows and have completed any other formatting in your Report Template, click Finished in the SOLIDWORKS Inspection Template Editor window, and save your report template.
    SOLIDWORKS Inspection Template Editor
  2. Test your template changes by opening a project and exporting the report. The results should look similar to the below image where all dimensional characteristics were inserted above the footer row. In this example, the footer row has been highlighted red to identify where the Footer Row Function was defined.

First Article Inspection Report Example

In a follow-up Blog “Customizing SOLIDWORKS Inspection Reports – Part 3”, I’ll provide techniques to automatically limit the number dimensional characteristics numbers per sheet and group balloons by manufacturing operations or inspection methods.

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DASI Solutions is dedicated to service and support. As one of a handful of original, charter value-added resellers (VAR) in the SolidWorks Community, DASI Solutions has built partnerships and success stories with many of our customers. We are very pleased to bring you SolidWorks 3D CAD design engineering software and 3D printing services.
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