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Confessions of a Microsoft Office Importer
user.
by Tetra Tech CAD designer and experienced
Axiom tools user, Bob Kangas
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BRIGHTON, MICHIGAN, USA —
At our Tetra Tech office, we save a lot of time and headaches
by using Microsoft Office Importer to import and update
quantity lists and tables from Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
into our road-design MicroStation files.
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| Bob Kangas, Project Manager for Tetra Tech. |
The following account illustrates how we did this in the
past without Microsoft Office Importer: We calculated
the quantities and entered them into an Excel spreadsheet
used to generate cost estimates. Then, we entered all the
quantities into MicroStation by manually typing them in. Before
submitting final plans, we printed a file listing all the
quantities by sheet and compared them to what was shown on
the plans, and then we made any necessary corrections - again
manually - to be sure that all the data matched. For a 30-sheet
project, this would take about 15 hours initially to input
all the quantities and then another 8 hours to update them
throughout the project.
"With Microsoft Office Importer, we only import
a main spreadsheet. The main spreadsheet displays linked information
from a set of "sub-spreadsheets". Each sub-spreadsheet
lists the quantities for a specific design sheet (a MicroStation
file). By only importing the main spreadsheet into MicroStation,
when a change is made to any of the sub-spreadsheets, all
we have to do is click on Microsoft Office Importer's
"Update" link button and the information in the
design file gets updated and matches the information in the
main spreadsheet.
Using Microsoft Office Importer cuts down drafting
time, eliminates human error and eliminates errors due to
changes in the main spreadsheet that do not get manually changed
in the design file.
On average, I would guess that Microsoft Office Importer
saves us 30 minutes per sheet. With most projects having 30
sheets or more, the time saved adds up. The data- input time
with Microsoft Office Importer is reduced to about
an hour or two, and updating is done with the click of a button.
Microsoft Office Importer saves us at least 15 hours
of busy work per project. Most importantly it reduces error
caused by entering the same information in multiple locations
by hand. With Microsoft Office Importer, you enter
the data in once and you're done.
About the Author
Bob Kangas is the project manager and group leader for Tetra
Tech's Road Design group based in Brighton, Michigan. Bob
has been a MicroStation user for 14 years and an Axiom tools
user for the past five years. In his free time, Bob enjoys
hockey, softball, hunting, fishing, and downhill skiing.
About Microsoft Office Importer
Microsoft Office Importer enables MicroStation users
to import and link nearly unlimited quantities of spreadsheet
data into MicroStation with ease. With Microsoft Office
Importer users can:
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Paste hundreds of columns and
rows of spreadsheet data into MicroStation in a single
paste.
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Have their linked spreadsheet
data automatically updated so it is in sync with the data
in the source Excel spreadsheet.
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Control the symbology and formatting
of the information pasted with exceptional precision.
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And more!
Call now!
For more information on Microsoft Office Importer,
contact an Axiom MicroStation Consultant today! Call 727-442-7774
or email us.
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