Making a price catalog from a proprietary system

[eviking]

I need to make a price list in Writer based on data from proprietary invoice software:

By making a small script (not in OOo) I am able to pull the data from that software ( item #, description, units, price ), and export it for example to a .cvs file.

The Writer pricelist would have headers, footers and other information. However I am still puzzled as to the best method of inserting the actual price list.

I would like to have it in a formatted table. I've played around with the content.xml file in the OOo file, and am able to add price info by inserting lines directly into the .xml. This turns rather complex when the table is formatted, though.

I would be very greatful for any suggestions to make this easier. Import the .cvs via Calc? Use template styles or whatnot? The solution should be simple to perform by the end user, as they need to update their price list on a weekly basis....

I have a strong feeling something similar is done regurarly by other users, so any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[acknak]

While you can do this in Writer using a mail merge, it has some drawbacks for things like a catalog.

Have you looked at using the report extension? http://extensions.services.openoffice.o ... portdesign

[eviking]

Thanks a lot for looking into this acnak!

I have downloaded the report extention and will try to see what I can do with it. Thanks for the assistance