• dreyes
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How do you run a query using the Connector where a field equals null?  I feel like I've tried every keyword I can think of and I keep getting no results or an error...

 

I want to pull in data where the Mailing Country on a contact is blank/null.

Background
We built an Analytic Snapshot to capture Opportunity Pipeline data so we can report historical trends.  Now, we are interested in reporting on this data to do a period-on-period comparison between this week vs last week data (with an option to compare other periods e.g. Month-on-Month, Quarter-on-Quarter, Year-on-Year).  The problem is that the standard SFDC report output is not 'presentation ready', and produces a report with unsightly rows and columns.  Excel is much more flexible in terms of reordering/renaming headers, layout, and not including summary columns/rows.  For this reason, we are trying to find a solution for SFDC's rigidity.

In addition, we would like to automate this process to schedule the report to run at a specific time and deliver it to a user in a 'presentation ready' format such as an Excel or PDF file.  I am aware of the 'Schedule Report' feature in salesforce.com but as I mentioned we have abandoned salesforce.com's report builder.

We are evaluating several other solutions and work arounds.  I have successfully imported a data-set from the custom Analytic Snapshot object into a target excel worksheet using the Excel Connector and created a pivot table in another worksheet.  I would like to export only the pivot table report (and not the raw data-set worksheet) to a PDF and send it to an email recipient.  Ultimately, I would like to automate the refresh of this data-set (and pivot table) then automatically create a PDF and send it to a designated recipient via email every Friday at 5PM without ever opening the workbook.  Is this possible, how would I go about accomplishing this?

Considerations:

  • Authenticating the Excel Connector with salesforce.com's login credentials and security token.
  • Producing the PDF through an authoring plugin.
  • Exporting and Emailing the PDF output to the designated recipient.


I am open to ANY suggestions and would appreciate any guidance.

Skills
Salesforce.com: Visual Force, APEX, Excel Connector
Excel: VBA, Macros

 

Report Example

 

How do you run a query using the Connector where a field equals null?  I feel like I've tried every keyword I can think of and I keep getting no results or an error...

 

I want to pull in data where the Mailing Country on a contact is blank/null.

Is it possible to access Salesforce CRM Content via the Excel Connector?  I believe I've downloaded the most recent version of the connector, but I can't seem to find the table for Content.  Am I missing something or is this not possible?  

 

-- Sherri