Figure 1: Here's our target.

The QTY SHIPPED and the QTY BOOKED come from iSeries data. How did they get there? Well, therein hangs a tale....

Note that the set of columns from F to I are headed GOLF. This is an operating division of the business. There are four other operating divisions. The value in QTY SHIPPED comes from invoicing. The value in QTY BOOKED comes from orders.

So, in times of old, the user would run a series of queries. There were two queries for each operating division. One would extract invoices for that division into a physical file in QGPL. The other would extract customer bookings into a physical file in QGPL. Then, the user would download those files to a spreadsheet. Using cut-and-paste, the user would copy the data into worksheets within the workbook depicted above. Each division has a worksheet for invoices and a worksheet for bookings. The analysis workbook you see here used formulas to bring the data forward.

So, the users now have eight separate file transfer specifications to execute and eight separate cut-and-paste operations to execute--amidst phone calls, visits, fire drills, and other interruptions. Think they might have made a mistake or two?

Well, they did. And who do you think gets to figure that out? I had to use integration as a form of self-defense!

So, I created a macro and made it part of a user form. Figure 2 shows the form.

Figure 2: Da form! Da form!

This simple form contains three controls. The Get Data command button (cmdGetData), the Cancel command button (cmdCancel), and the division drop-down list (divisionlist). In the form's initialize event (userforms use an initialize event rather than a load event), I placed the following code:

When users run the macro, they are presented with this form. When the form initializes, it sets the values for the drop-down list (which is a combobox control) and opens the connection to the iSeries. Note also the inclusion of the QueryClose event, which occurs when the form is ready to unload. When the form unloads, we close the iSeries connection.

If you look up the syntax for the QueryClose event, you'll also notice that you can tell what requested the close (the user, an unload method, or the task manager) and that you can abort the close. In this case, I don't do any of that stuff. I just use it to clean up after myself.

The user selects a division and presses the "Get Data" button to place the information in the appropriate worksheet.

Here's the code behind "Get Data":

I start by checking the listindex property of the divisionlist combobox. If listindex's value is –1, then no selection has been made. Otherwise, I use a select/case to react to the choice. The values set by the select structure are used in the SQL statement and in the spreadsheet:

This bit of code sets the profit center in the select criteria. To set the sheet that I stuff the data into, invTarget is used:

This selects the "gs" worksheet for invoice data. Later on, we'll use the "go" worksheet in a similar way. We clear the sheet, get our recordset, and drop in the data:

This simple Do loop puts the data into the appropriate spreadsheet, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Drop the data into the "gs" worksheet.

If you look back at Figure 1, you'll see that columns F and G display numbers. These are the formulas behind them:

(IF(ISERROR(VLOOKUP($B6,gs,2,FALSE))=TRUE,0,VLOOKUP($B6,gs,2,FALSE)))+(IF(ISERROR(VLOOKUP($B6,gc,2,FALSE))=TRUE,0,VLOOKUP($B6,gc,2,FALSE)))

Lovely formula, isn't it? The English translation: Using the value in column B of this row, go to the "gs" worksheet and search for that value in the first column. If you don't find the value from column B in the first column of the "gs" worksheet, then return the number zero. If you do find the value from column B in the first column of the "gs" worksheet, return whatever value you find in column 2 of that row.

By using the existing spreadsheet, all I had to do was create my transfer process and put the results in the right place. In so doing, I can use the existing spreadsheets and their formulas. This method lets me integrate without a complete redesign.

So do your homework on the system catalog, and I'll see you next month!

Chris Devous is the Director of IT Systems Development at The Antigua Group, Inc., a Peoria, Arizona, garment manufacturer. Chris has been in IT since '82 and lives Arizona with his wife, three children, a bird, two dogs, a cat, and various marine life forms. He can be reached by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..