This feature is available in the classic Velixo product for Excel for Windows
Purpose
Use Distribution List with a desktop installation of MS Outlook to quickly distribute reports to a large number of users in a single click. Reports can be sent by e-mail or simply saved to a folder in a variety of formats. You have the freedom to include specific content (sheets/tabs) or use different parameters (company, branch, division, financial period, etc.) based on the recipient. Highly sensitive data can be password protected.
Example use cases:
E-mail a monthly performance dashboard in PDF format to the manager of every location of your 200-location business.
Send detailed financials to your area/group managers in Excel format.
Prepare a complete financial reporting package for your shareholders, removing Acumatica formulas and hyperlinks for people without access to your ERP system.
Archive the final version of your monthly reports to a network share with clear and consistent naming.
E-mail a PDF version of your project progress report to project managers every week.
These are just some examples of what can be achieved — Report Distribution lists are extremely versatile, powerful, yet very simple to use.
How to use the Report Distribution feature
From any spreadsheet, start by creating a blank Report Distribution list. To do so, click on New Distribution List
What you will then see is a new spreadsheet that contains all the fields needed to set up report distribution:
Simply fill in the blanks. Here’s a description of all the different settings:
By default, the distribution list shows 10 (blank) rows, but you are free to add as many as you want. An Excel workbook can contain multiple distribution lists, so if you have different monthly/quarterly/yearly runs or simply occasional distribution requirements, feel free to add as many lists as you need and give your lists unique and memorable names.
Be sure not to change the order of the columns or introduce any additional columns anywhere except at the end of the Excel table.
Format:
Select the type of file that you want to create:
Excel file (with all functions intact)
Excel file without Velixo functions
Excel file without any functions
PDF
None (when including the entire report within the email body)
File Name
The name of the file you want to create
Tab Selection
The names of the unprotected worksheet(s) you want to include in the file you create - if specifying more than one worksheet, the list must be separated by semicolons ;
Notes: 1) Only list unprotected worksheets in the Tab Selection column. Attempting to distribute a protected worksheet can cause Excel to stop. 2) The names are case sensitive. List the names exactly as they appear in the tabs of the workbook. |
Folder Path
The location where the file is to be created. You can use the Insert Folder Path button in the Acumatica ribbon to help you specify the location
Email To
Optional.
The email address to which the file is to be sent
Email Subject
Optional.
The subject line for the email
Email Body
Optional.
The body of the email. This can be hand-entered text or a cell/range reference.
File Password
Optional.
The created file can be password protected. To do so, place the password in this column.
Attachments
Optional.
The path and name of any additional attachments for the email
Report parameters (company, branch, division, financial period, etc.)
Reports can be run with different parameters for each recipient. You can configure the parameters in the Distribution List by adding new columns to the end of the list.
The name of the column should match a named range in your spreadsheet:
Velixo Reports will apply the parameters automatically during distribution.
Occasionally it can be convenient to include a cell containing some temporary data or interim calculation but that you do not want to pass to your report as a parameter. With Velixo Reports version 6.0.558 and higher, this can be accomplished by prefixing the name of the column with an exclamation point. In this example...  ... the data in the !CompanyStores column could be used in determining the contents of the Stores column, but would not be passed to the report. Like all user-defined columns, these must be located at the end of the Excel table (leaving the standard columns undisturbed). |
To start the distribution process, click Distribute All in the Excel toolbar.
Using Pivot Tables with a Distribution List
When passing report parameters that can impact a pivot table, a Velixo 6 (and higher) Distribution List can be configured to automatically refresh the pivot tables as part of the Distribution process:
(Distribution Lists created with earlier versions of Velixo Reports can be re-created with a supporting version to gain this feature)
Saving Reports to SharePoint or WebDAV
Example
Here’s a completed example:
The example above would generate 9 different copies of the current report:
The full consolidated financials will be exported to a network share in Excel and PDF formats. The PDF version will be e-mailed to the CEO at the same time. To ensure that the Excel file can be viewed by external users, the Velixo formulas will be replaced by actuals during the process and connections to Acumatica will be removed. As an additional security measure, both files are password protected.
The sales dashboard (one of the tabs of the report that is built using Velixo functions and Acumatica data) will be e-mailed to the sales manager
Region-specific P&Ls containing one tab per location will be e-mailed to each regional manager. Since the managers will have access to Acumatica, we will keep the Velixo formulas to allow the managers to drilldown to Acumatica or refresh the reports.
You may also select a few rows only and use the “Distribute Selected Rows” option: