Reporting options ?

[TheWaterboy]

Looking for a new reporting software. I wrote this one in 2012 using SQL server and SSRS and I now that I'm getting near the end I need to replace it with something that others can easily support.

Had an appt with OsiSoft Pi salesman this morning but they ghosted. Anyone use Pi and think its worth pursuing? Their sales staff obviously doesn't.

Other options I'm aware of are XLReporter or DreamReports.

Its intended to automagically create a set of reports for State Compliance so they need to look a certain way.

 

[Nova5]

XLReporter... mediocre buggy.. it works but you have to hack your way around its idiosyncrasies. PI is useful to rename your points to a sensible shorter name.

It will regularly foul things up you didn't even touch. Edit charts on Sheet 1... unconnected charts on Sheet 5 have their color changed.

Making formulas work takes a little tweaking as the way it references cells isn't the same exact syntax as excel uses itself, however excel understands and will use the format XLReporter uses You're just having to add $ before each letter and cell number. A32 becomes $A$32. Not difficult just annoying.

I work with it regularly enough...

 

[Nova5]

They are into version 14 and still have such basic problems as printing format problems. It doesn't match what the previews or excel spreadsheets show.

 

[TheWaterboy]

I used XLReporter before I built the SQL system so I know what you mean. It was not being able to populate a prebuilt form though. I think Dream Reports does that as well.

If you want to see formatting nightmares , take a dive into SSRS. OMG that this is a pain. If you have a line segment that touches the one next to it, the entire format is mangled. Must have 1 pixel space between them. Far easier if you created it programmatically but I wasn't smart enough to do that.

I also want to pull the data from the Historian now instead of a SQL database. Edition bad data might be more difficult though... not sure how to handle that yet. an UPDATE with SQL was dead simple... though always suspect if audited.

 

[TheWaterboy]

Problems that go away on their own mystically are not solved. They will return.

Knew a long tenured cop that was never in a hurry to arrive at a dangerous situation. His reasoning was: "If you take a little time, often $hit corrects itself". He's not wrong about that.

 

[Nova5]

With XLReporter.. you can populate a prebuilt form. Have the Prebuilt form read a sheet just filled with the data, and the cells in the prebuilt can read specific cells in the data sheet. Just hide the data sheet so the end user doesn't see it. I have it doing that to create charts, pie and line. I have to have forumlas out the back end in the data sheet to organize the data so my charts can use it to shift from one line color to another to indicate a process running status while still showing operational values.

 

[mylespetro]

I have a tiny bit of experience with using PI (frontend, no configuration) and it is pretty straightforward from a usage standpoint.

 

[Ken Moore]

I have installed, configured and used many OSI-PI systems. IMHO they are the best historian on the market. Once the data is in the historian, they have an Excel plugin that allows you to pull in data, to any cell. So if your report is in excel, you could be good to go.

But OSI-PI is expensive.

 

[TheWaterboy]

Does it replace the SCADA historian, in this case iFix iHistorian, so that iFix uses it as well?
And thinking ahead... if I convert a plant to Factorytalk, will FT use it as well ?

Can you elaborate on expensive? this is an AB shop so we understand expensive . . .but if this is a new definition of expensive its worth knowing that. Can you give a number for around the area of 2000 tags. Just guess.

 

[Phrog30]

If Ignition is an option, then use their reporting module. Then you have a total package.

 

[Ken Moore]

I know from your postings that you have Rockwell PLC's installed. The FactoryTalkView Historian is OSI-PI under the hood, with a special interface to Rockwell PLC's. Have you checked with your local Rockwell salesman, you might have more leverage with him/her.

 

[TheWaterboy]

I like ignition a lot, but its not an option here for reasons that frustrate me.

 

[TheWaterboy]

The FactoryTalkView Historian is OSI-PI under the hood

Well now thats interesting.

 

[TheWaterboy]

Just spoke to a Pi rep. Says they were bought by Schneider. This is not good news. They have bought 2 other lines I used (APC and SquareD) and both turned to absolute **** I want nothing to do with.

He also repeatedly mentioned "its expensive" and that the licensing model is ... shall we say... fluid.

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