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Replace Images in Excel Document

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Replace Images in Excel Document

This Specification Task inserts an image into an Excel document to replace an existing shape that has a specific title.

Microsoft Office

  • Ensure Microsoft Office is installed on all DriveWorks machines that will process this Task.

Microsoft Office and DriveWorks Live running as a service through IIS

Services (IIS) do not have access to many applications, especially COM programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel.

When using DriveWorks Live and IIS please read the following articles for information on where to place this Task.

Properties

Property NameDescription
TitleChanges the Title (not the name) of the Task.
Source File NameFile Name of the document to edit (Should be rooted or relative to the Specification Directory).
The Source File Name is the name of the document once it has been created by a Specification.
Titles of ImagesPipebar (|) delimited list of titles of images to be replaced.
This is the Title given to the inserted shape (see Set Up below).

Naming a shape using Alt Text is supported for Excel and Word builds 1803 and earlier.

Naming a shape using Alt Text and Selection is supported for Excel and Word builds 1804 and newer.

New Images File NamesPipebar (|) delimited list of images to insert, in the order they are required to be inserted relative to titles (Must include Full File Paths, or paths relative to the parent file).
Show ExcelExcel application will be visible if set to True.
Export Sheet NameThe sheet name in the spreadsheet that will be exported.
Extension for Saving FilePipe-bar (|) delimited list of extensions to save the file as (e.g. .pdf|.xps|.txt).

The following extensions are supported for saving the file:

.pdf, .xps, .txt, .xml, .htm, .html, .csv, .dif, .slk, .ods, .xlsm, .xlsb, .xls, .xltx, .xltm, .xlt, .xla and .xlam

Set Up

The Replace Image task works by replacing a Shape in the Excel document.

To create a shape in the master document, of the file that is to have the image replaced, follow the steps below:

Step 1In the master document...

Click the INSERT menu, select Shapes and select a rectangular shape to insert.

Draw the shape at the point the image is required to be.

The original Line, Effects and Text Box properties of the shape will be maintained.

Only the FILL property will be changed to Picture Fill when the image is replaced.

Shapes with rounded edges, thick borders etc. will be preserved when the image is inserted. Images will be cropped and scaled to suit the size and layout of the original shape.

Step 2 - Using Selection, Shape Name (for Excel build 1804 and newer that are original .docx files)
Select the shape and, from the Editing group in the Home tab, click Find & Select and select Selection Pane from the menu.

From the Selection window (usually located on the right hand side of the Microsoft Excel window) enter a name for the shape in the Name field.

This is the name that is to be entered into the Titles property of the task.
Step 2 - Using Alt Text (for Excel build 1803 and earlier or are .doc files or .docx files that were originally .doc files)
Right Click the shape and select Format Shape from the menu.

From the Format Shape window (usually located on the right hand side of the Microsoft Excel window) select the Layout & Properties icon.

Expand the ALT TEXT item and enter a name for the shape in the Title field.

This is the name that is to be entered into the Titles property of the task.

Example

When this Task is added the properties are static. To be able to build rules on a static property see How To: Change A Static Property To A Dynamic Property.

Property NameExample RuleExample ResultMeaning
Source File NameDWSpecificationfullPath&"\TableMaster.xlsx"C:\MyDocuments\Project 9999\TableMaster.xlsxThis is the Full File Path location of the Excel document to replace images for.
Titles Of Images"Logo"LogoThis is a pipebar (|) delimited list of Titles of images to be replaced. These are the Titles of the shapes that you have set Titles for using Alt Text.
New Images File Names"C:\MyDocuments\MyPictures\Logo.JPG"C:\MyDocuments\MyPictures\Logo.JPGThis is a pipebar (|) delimited list of images to insert, in the order they are required to be inserted relative to the Titles of the images order.
Show ExcelTRUETRUETRUE will make the Excel application visible. FALSE will not.
Export Sheet Name"Sheet1"Sheet1Sheet1 is the name of the spreadsheet that will be exported.
Extension For Saving File".xlsx".xlsxThis will save the Excel document as a xlsx file.

Status Outputs

This task supports Status Outputs. These can be used to perform different actions depending on what the status outcome of the task is. For more information see Status Outputs in the Task Node Outputs section of Specification Macros Task Node.

The status output navigation is as follows:

Success

  • Images successfully inserted into Excel document

Success with Warnings

  • Document format does not support title shape update. The following formats allows update of title: .docx, .docm, .dot, .docx, .dotm

Failed (one of the following occurred).

  • No images files have been specified
  • Source file name is empty
  • Source file does not exist or could not be accessed
  • Source file extension is invalid
  • Source file is read-only. Cannot insert images into read-only document
  • Could not find title
  • Title list and image lists do have the same number of items
  • Unknown error occurred