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Why buy this product?

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    Why buy this product?

    Why should I choose to buy QReportBuilder?

    If I am running Alpha5 enterprise and Quickbooks enterprise couldn't I use the read only QODBC driver to make the connection to the Quickbooks file and import data?

    If I purchase QReportBuilder do I also need to have a license for Alpha5?

    Is QReportBuilder a standalone application? (does Alpha5 also need to be installed on the same machine?)

    Can I only create Reports in QReportBuilder? What about Forms, Browses, Letters, Labels, Operations, and Xbasic scripts?

    What if I need to manipulate data? Once I have imported data, can I then add additional fields to the table, can I create field rules? Can I place calculated fields on the report?

    I apologize for all the questions. Was introduced to a possible oppurtunity where I could be working on adding flexibility to the quick books reporting system. Just trying to determine what methods are available and the pro's / con's of each method.

    Thank you,
    -Andy
    Andrew

    #2
    Re: Why buy this product?

    Downloaded the demo, installed and ran it.

    Got the attached error message. I am a little baffled by the error message as this is the first time that I have attempted to use the application.

    Went to the help menu to check out the activate command and was unable to find it. There was an update command, so tried that. As luck would have it, I do have the most up to date version :)

    -Andy
    Andrew

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Why buy this product?

      Andy

      I saw your post and sent a message to Alpha. I'll let you know what thier response is.

      In the meantime, do you have another computer that has not had a previous trial of Alpha 5 ?

      The QRB trial will work there.. There has been an ongoing elusive issue that pops it's ugly head on rare occasions... Still trying to squash it....

      Have you looked at the qreportbuilder.com web site to glean answers from?
      Al Buchholz
      Bookwood Systems, LTD
      Weekly QReportBuilder Webinars Thursday 1 pm CST

      Occam's Razor - KISS
      Normalize till it hurts - De-normalize till it works.
      Advice offered and questions asked in the spirit of learning how to fish is better than someone giving you a fish.
      When we triage a problem it is much easier to read sample systems than to read a mind.
      "Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler."
      Albert Einstein

      http://www.iadn.com/images/media/iadn_member.png

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Why buy this product?

        I got the same message. Alpha responded that they are aware that a trial of QRB can't be started on a machine that already has Alpha Five v8 acticvated. It is on the list to fix...

        Bill.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Why buy this product?

          I was able to run QReportBuilder at home last night. I do not have a copy of a quickbooks data file and so had to use the sample data. Other than the syncing of a different database I was able to play around with some of the other options in the demo. As such I felt that it would be appropriate to answer my own questions.

          Originally posted by aschone View Post
          If I am running Alpha5 enterprise and Quickbooks enterprise couldn't I use the read only QODBC driver to make the connection to the Quickbooks file and import data?
          Why re-invent the wheel? Using this product I do not have to go out and learn how to code the connection to the quickbooks file. Also it appears that I do not even have to worry about getting the ODBC driver installed as all of that appeared to have taken place behind the scenes. The layout initial interface is extremely simple and was easy to understand and deteremine where I needed to go in order to do what I needed to do.

          Originally posted by aschone View Post
          If I purchase QReportBuilder do I also need to have a license for Alpha5?
          No, it appears that only QReportBuilder is needed.

          Originally posted by aschone View Post
          Is QReportBuilder a standalone application? (does Alpha5 also need to be installed on the same machine?)
          On my test machine at home, I did not have Alpha5 installed, so it appears that this answer is also no.

          Originally posted by aschone View Post
          Can I only create Reports in QReportBuilder? What about Forms, Browses, Letters, Labels, Operations, and Xbasic scripts?
          Reports and XBasic scripts only. You are able to use action scripting for your scripting needs. Looking at the available list of action scripts it appears that a majority of the normal alpha5 developer action scripts are present. Even though I have not tested a script it appears that there are no limitations in the scripting enviroment of QREportBuild compared to the developers copy of alpha5

          Originally posted by aschone View Post
          What if I need to manipulate data? Once I have imported data, can I then add additional fields to the table, can I create field rules? Can I place calculated fields on the report?
          Even though I did not test this out specifically, it appears that with xbasic scripts this is all possible.
          Andrew

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Why buy this product?

            I could not tell from your post if you have Quickbooks installed on that computer. If not, there is some functionality that you can't test in Qreportbuilder.

            However, you can download the free QB SimpleStart version of Quickbooks from quickbooks.com and QRB can link to that. It has a sample company file.

            Bill.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Why buy this product?

              Currently I do not have Quickbooks installed on my home test machine. If I get a chance tonight I will install that. Thank you for the heads up.

              -Andy
              Andrew

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Why buy this product?

                Originally posted by aschone View Post
                Can I only create Reports in QReportBuilder? What about Forms, Browses, Letters, Labels, Operations, and Xbasic scripts?
                Default forms and browses. Yes to the rest of the list - including operations. This is especially important for pre-processing data and then reporting.

                Some major advantages are the find data values or fieldname values with in the data.
                The standard linkages between QB tables are predefined and available to reporting process.
                Also the explorer relationship between the QRB tables and QB forms.

                The Product Comparison is also a good place to see the QRB advantages.
                Last edited by Al Buchholz; 03-06-2008, 07:52 PM.
                Al Buchholz
                Bookwood Systems, LTD
                Weekly QReportBuilder Webinars Thursday 1 pm CST

                Occam's Razor - KISS
                Normalize till it hurts - De-normalize till it works.
                Advice offered and questions asked in the spirit of learning how to fish is better than someone giving you a fish.
                When we triage a problem it is much easier to read sample systems than to read a mind.
                "Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler."
                Albert Einstein

                http://www.iadn.com/images/media/iadn_member.png

                Comment

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