IBM WORKPADC3 manual Appendix C, About mapping tables

Appendix C

Creating a Custom

Expense Report

This section explains how to modify existing Expense application templates and how to create your own custom expense report templates for use with the Expense application.

Note: This section assumes that you are familiar with Microsoft Excel or a similar spreadsheet application. If you are not familiar with Microsoft Excel, consult your company’s Information Services department or another experienced user.

About mapping tables

Before creating or modifying an Expense template, it is important to understand the Palm™ Desktop for IBM WorkPad Expense application. In simple terms, the Expense application moves Expense data from your companion to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Each Expense item in your companion represents a group of related data. You can associate the following data with an expense item:

■	Category	■	Payment Currency
■	Date	■	Vendor
■	Expense Type	■	City
■	Amount	■	Attendees
■	Payment Method	■	Note

When you perform a HotSync® operation between your companion and Palm Desktop for IBM WorkPad, the Expense data is stored on your computer (in a file named Expense.txt). When you open the Expense application in Palm Desktop for IBM WorkPad, an Excel macro starts, and populates an expense template with your data based on the rules specified in a spreadsheet file named Maptable.xls.

The Maptable.xls file is an editable spreadsheet that functions as a “mapping table.” The function of the mapping table is to guide the Excel macro in extracting the Expense data. The mapping table tells the Excel macro how large the spreadsheet is and provides the data- cell layout of the Excel template used for the Expense Report.

Appendix C Page 199