L4X is a filter for importing text into MS Excel. It is made up from 3 components:
the filter itself, a language (based on
Lua) for scripting the filter
and an editor/debugger for developing and running the script.
An L4X script is saved (as a cell comment) within an "example" worksheet.
When L4X is "added-in" to Excel, the script can be re-run. Although the
L4X language does not control spreadsheet formatting, the L4X filter will copy
the original workbook and adjust cell formulae and ranges to allow for the
rows inserted into the worksheet by text import. The positions of notes
and pictures are also automatically adjusted.
Please download this
L4X windows installer file and
run it. After installing, go to the windows start menu, and open the
L4X examples. When Excel opens the examples workbook, L4X will automatically
be "added-in" to Excel and the new L4X menu-options will allow
you to create, edit, debug and run L4X scripts.
If you have already installed
LuateX, you
must first remove the
"add-in" from Excel and then un-install it from Windows.
Alternatively, you may start Excel and select the [Tools|Add-Ins] menu option. You will
then see a list of the add-ins available. You must then click on
the [Browse] button to find the L4X add-in file: L4x.xla
which will be found in the folder you selected when installing.
When you have selected this file, you should see the name
"L4X for text import" appear in the list of add-ins. Check the
box by this L4X add-in and then click O.K.
The L4X editor/debugger provides help-pages that descripes both itself and the L4X language.
You may download the zip-file of these
help-pages and
review them starting at page:
index.html
Once you have created and tested an excel-file containing an
L4X
script this file can be used within
PDFing
for converting spooled-files to spreadsheets.
You must first copy the excel file to the PDFing
\Markup directory. PDFing
will select this file when requested and run the script to convert the spooled-file
to a spreadsheet. PDFing can be configured so that this "example"file is
run when:
-
The excel file-name (without the .xls extension) matches one of the names specified in
the default markup controls.
-
The excel file-name (without the .xls extension) has the same name as the
the currently selected "markup" file.
-
The excel file-name (without the .xls extension) is specified on the [Convert] page
of the currently selected "markup" file.
-
The excel file-name (without the .xls extension) is specified by the "tag"
ECX=xxxx sent with the spooled-file data.
L4X should not be confused with
Lua for PDFing, which is
language "embedded" in
PDFing,
that allows for the extensive customisation of its behaviour. However the
script for this embedded language can be developed and debugged using program:
L4p.exe which is installed as part of the
L4X editor/debugger.
L4X - a filter for Excel text-imports