Booking Pro reports are produced using Microsoft Office Excel^®. This has the advantage of allowing you to utilise your existing Excel skills to change the presentation of reports and to analyse the data further (e.g. apply further selection, sort it differently, produce pivot tables and charts).

To open a report using Booking Pro, click on the Reports icon on the toolbar to display a list of reports that are available.

To open a report simply highlight the entry in the list and click the Open Report link under Common Tasks. Then, depending on the report you are opening, it may give you various options that you can specify (e.g. a date range, including cancelled bookings). If it does, make your selections and click the OK button.

The report will then open Excel  to display the report, the format of which will depend on the report you have selected.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please do not interrupt Excel while it is formatting the report. Doing so can interfere with the report and cause errors or the formatting to be completed incorrectly.

Why do I get a "The specified XML source does not refer to a schema" error when I run a report?

This message is displayed by Excel and is an "informational" message rather than an error. Clicking the OK button will close the message and allow the report to open. You can stop this message appearing by checking the option "In future, do not show this message." before clicking the OK button.

The report I have opened only shows a chart and no data?

Some of the reports contain more than one worksheet (e.g. a worksheet called "Chart" and a sheet called "Report"). Often the data behind the chart can be found on the worksheet called "Report". You can select a different worksheet using the "tabs" displayed at the bottom of the current sheet (see example below).

Can I save a copy of a report to a file?

Excel will allow you to save the spreadsheet using the Save As option on the File menu. It can be saved in in various formats depending on which version of Excel you are using and the drivers installed on your PC. If the format you want to save it in is not available (e.g. Adobe Acrobat/PDF format) then you will need to speak to your IT department so that they can install a suitable driver.

What features of Excel can I use on a Booking Pro report?

You can use any of the features Excel has available including sorting, filtering, pivot tables, charts, password protection etc. If you find yourself using the same features over and over again then you can automate the task using an Excel macro. However when you record your macro please ensure that they are saved in your "Personal Macro Workbook" (see below) to ensure that it is available after you close the report.

What should I do if I get the error message "Excel was unable to complete the task possibly because it was interrupted. Please close all Excel windows and try again."?

This error is displayed when Excel is unable to complete a task which it needs to do. There are a number of reasons why Excel can display this message but they can all be cured by closing all Excel windows and opening the report again. In very rare situations it may be necessary to close all Office applications and possibly even reboot your PC but in most cases this won't be necessary.

Can I import data directly into Microsoft Excel?

Instructions for importing data directly into Microsoft Excel can be found here.