RASS TOOLS LTD

Microsoft's Office which contains MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Outlook,  MS Access, MS InfoPath, MS Project and MS Visio etc is perhaps the most widely used office automation tools set. It has changed the way people work in offices and the change is still continuing. Users have immensely benefited by new ways of working. MS  Office has a  number of advance features. RASS Tools has recognized that users can benefit further by extending the functionalities and adding custom applications to be used at personal as well as enterprise level.

We have identified that MS Excel, MS Access, and MS Project Professional are extremely powerful tools. By using VBA or VSTO, the applications based on these tools can be developed and implemented rapidly. The following are some of the examples that may help you to think and understand your own situation where similar or specific applications may make a difference to your business.

MS Excel:

Most of us use MS Excel as a spreadsheet. We keep lots of data in it. Windows folders may look crowded with Excel files. Besides being a powerful personal tool, MS Excel can be used to develop powerful tools that can help speedup the work that we do with Excels, integrate Excel with other office tools and SQL Server database. Today MS Excel can act a powerful front end with backend as SQL Server or other databases. The following are some examples:

• Systematize and automate the repetitive work in MS Excel
• Extract data from other sources such as formatted Text, MS Access, MS Project and MS SQL Server and use it for analysis and reporting in MS Excel
• Store MS Excel templates in MS SQL Server and make them available to users in controlled multi-user environment. Store the filled in templates back into MS SQL server.
• Capture data in MS Excel and store data to MS SQL Server and retrieve when required
• Develop graphs in MS Excel and transfer these graphs as pictures, store them into MS SQL Server, use these pictures to assemble MS PowerPoint slides.
• Interface MS Excel with MS Outlook to automate email applications

MS Access:

Now think of MS Access, the common business database. It allows you to develop powerful client / server applications where Access applications act client to many RDBMS databases.  MS Access integrates well with MS Excel, MS SQL Server and other MS Office tools. The list of applications written in MS Access is endless. Therefore, the following examples mention only generic applications.

• As a database used by other MS Office tools
• Business Applications for personal and localized use
• Enterprise level applications that use databases on the intranet
• Data capture and reporting

MS Project:

And finally let us talk about MS Project Professional which is very popular as project scheduling tool. Users imagination has yet not picked it up for developing applications as in the case of MS Excel and MS Access. However, you can develop some applications based on MS Project. The following are few examples:

• Extend the functionalities of MS Project by adding custom applications as new items on the menu
• Use its inbuilt Tree View and rollup features to create hierarchical based analysis and reports
• Integrate it with MS Excel and MS SQL server to store and retrieve data.

Besides MS Excel, MS Access and MS Project, MS Outlook, MS Word and MS PowerPoint can also provide good opportunities to automating work and develop applications.

If you have already identified the applications, contact us to discuss how we can make the difference. You can also take our help to identify applications that will immensely benefit you.