Custom Reports

A completed report of any type originates from a form, which is a mock-up of a final report. Operation, Part, and Tool Reports each have their own forms. Each form is generated by two items, a Template file and a Model file. The Template and Model files are located within the folder <Program Files\Gibbs\GibbsCAM\(version#)\PlugIns\Data\Report>. To access the Program Files folder and add or modify Reporter templates, you must have Administrator access to the computer.

Model File

The Model file is an Excel file that defines the report form. This file can contain all the information that is not dependent on the current part, such as the company name and address, the current date, and the company logo. It also contains all the formatting information for the report, including the size of each cell in the Excel file, the font size and formatting, and the general look of the report. A new model file must be generated for each custom report. Start from one of the preexisting Excel files when making a custom model file to save time and effort.

Figure 6: Model file for the Operation Report (note that the Excel menus and commands are not shown).

Template File

The Template file is a text file that contains a list of instructions describing the data to extract from the current part in GibbsCAM. Each item in the template contains a data descriptor and information on the destination of that data in the model file (the .XLS document). In the following example, the fourth line of the text file reads, "OpPartName 3 10." This means that the given parameter, OpPartName, will be placed in position 3 10. OpPartName is the name of the part and the position relates to rows and columns in Excel; thus, the part name will be positioned on the third row in the tenth column of the Excel file.

Macros

The Reporter recognizes embedded macros in Excel files that add functionality to your report. You can define any actions to be taken within the macro as allowed by VisualBasic Scripting.

An example of this is automatically saving a part report to the same location as your part file using the PartFile command. All macros must be named GibbsCamEndReport. The macro will automatically be run at the end of the report generation. A brief tutorial on how to accomplish this is found in the section "Reporter Macro" on page 137.