Lee, If you are still following this thread;

1) How are you able to get the information into a .pdf? Are you
scanning it?

2) Are there any export, save-to options?

3) What type of db file is being written?

4) Can the "database" be opened in Notepad or other more-robust text
editor?

Dennis


Lee Davison wrote:

You say that the program you use is an "in house" prgram. To me,
that
means
that someone at your company has made it and should be able to
rewrite the
program so that it creates something that Excel can open, like an
xml or
cvs
file. Getting the data off a pdf file seems like a bad idea to me.

/Fredrik


Its a long story, You are correct, it was written in house, then bad
planning saw the developer leave on bad terms with no obligation to
support
the software, leaving us with a ticking bomb that wont go off as long
as we
dont mess with it. Quotes for external companies to re-audit the
software
range from the price of a 4 bedroomed house to the price of a large
farm.
You get the idea. What im trying to acheive in this instance is an
internal
check on materials issued, but im trying to find something passive. I
work
as part of the design team and one constant cloud over my head is
reading
through each piping system parts list and manually inputting the
quants onto
an excel spreadsheet. I can spend half a day - each day monotonously
transerring information rather than doing my designs. Its nice to
have a
break from AutoCAD and calcs but inputting the Excel quants day after
day
gets too much. Hence why Im here, in my own persoanl time, trying to
find a
solution. Plus I get to be the hero if I manage it (credit to the
solution
giver of course! Ill send a memo with your name on lol)

Thanks
Lee