MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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I need to be able to display rolling data screens onto LCD's in a Sales Office. The data will come from existing databases obtain via SQL utilising MS Excel/Query.
Everyone I've spoken to has stressed how complex it is, and while the hardware is pretty reasonable (screen, cables, PC), software to actually control the display seems a bit 'unobtainable' - and this isn't even to actually get the data, just display it.
Any ideas?
Buckinghamshire if it makes a difference.
EIP
Set up a web server and build a page with a query using PHP or similar to display the data you need. Point the display PC at the url of the page and set it to auto refresh as required.
That's one way anyway.
What he said. A reporting tool like Business Objects would simplify generating and publishing the reports too.
Grab the source code for http://lcdsmartie.sourceforge.net/ and hire a Delphi programmer for an afternoon?
Yeah, I was halfway through writing a post talking about IE in kiosk mode before I realised what the problem was - the OP isn't talking about regular monitors I don't think.
With a regular monitor, it's about half an hour's scripting.
Does it have to be LCD? We use Symon units to display rolling info.
Its a large(ish) sales floor, and they want a couple of 40" screens up on the walls.
Is there a no-cost basic reporting tool that anyones used that may work?
Ive done a similar with a PC connected to each monitor, and VNC to them to control whats displayed. We used MS Access to build an auto refresh form which you can make quite jazzy.
Just need to setup the datasources on each PC to allow the access to run as a front end for the back end data. Most offices already have MS Access available and someone who can use it pretty well, so might be a no-cost solution for you, although the solutions above would be a more robust way of doing things.
Php/asp/jsp? Got any developers there? I may be able to help 🙂 I would find it extremely easy as a developer.
Can you not just point excel at the database and get the excel page to autorefresh?
If someone could set up the webserver and provide the database connection details, with a detailed spec, a web developer monkey should be able to knock something out in half a day.
That lcd smartie freeware works well, just 4*40 characters just ain't enough.
Looks like I'm going to have to get a proper spec done and put it out for 'work'.
I've no problem getting the data to populate the screens, just need to be able to 'roll' it and refresh.
Just to confirm, are you saying that you can easily enough generate a report (in html or similar format) but that you just don't know how to get it to refresh/rotate?
If so, it's very easy to set up a web page that will autorefresh or to have one that will redirect after a fixed time to another page - you can then just link all your pages together and get the queries to run as the page is requested.
I'd set up a webserver, then write some php or similar to make a DB request and display the data in an HTML page, and use DHTML to make it rotate and refresh every so often.
I'll bid for the job 🙂
LCDProc used to be good for matrix displays. Is that the sort of thing you are after?