RSView, Excel, and DDE updates

Currently we have a spreadsheet that a chromatograph analyzer stores data in. This same spreadsheet feeds data into the RSView application using a DDE topic. Everything is on one computer and works.

We are moving the chromatograph software to another machine but still need to get the data into RSView. We have the DDE share working, but not getting valid data. I can create a second spreadsheet on the computer that RSView runs on, and link to the cell on the other computer. I want the data in the excel spreadsheet to on the view computer to update when it changes on the chromatograph(CG) computer.

I have been able to do this manually by saving the changes on the GC computer and going to the RSView computer and manually refreshing the data. If I close the spreadsheet on the RSView computer, it will update when I reopen it. The spreadsheet needs to stay open so the data values show in the RSView application. I need to find a way to automate this.

This is on the Office XP version of Excel.

Any help with this is appreciated!!!

Hmmm. So the GC writes to the Excel sheet, and then the RSView app reads the Excel file? Or does the Excel sheet contain VBA code that writes to the RSView tags?

If the latter, make sure that Excel macro/VBA security settings are set the same on both computers. Also, you may want to make sure that the DDE topic settings are the same.

If you're using RSLinx, also ensure that the DDE topic configuration is identical.

One more wag (wild a$$ed guess)...check the "calculate" settings in Excel. I once worked on a machine where someone had turned off the "automatically calculate worksheet" setting and I had a similar issue where I could only get the sheet to update by closing and reopening it.

D A M N Paul I thought that I was crazy when I had to ope up the file and enable auto calculate.

This is one of those sheets that you keep just incase. It worked on my PC but not on the clients I had to check it then save it. Re open it and it was off. IT played with settings because it ties up bandwidth.