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Excel RTD Quickstart

This guide goes from a fresh machine to one live, self-updating value, first confirmed with the bundled console driver and then in an Excel cell. It stitches together installation, client authorization on the Center, and configuration, so follow it before reaching for the reference.

Prerequisites

  • Windows 10 or 11 with 64-bit desktop Excel.
  • A reachable 3forge Enterprise Center, and its host and port.
  • Access to the Center's allow-list and the ability to restart it, or someone who can do both, because authorizing a new client is a server-side change.
  • The Excel RTD Server, downloadable from the "Files" page in the 3forge Client Portal.

1. Install the RTD Server

Run AmiRtdServerSetup-<version>.exe as a normal user, not elevated. It installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Ami\RtdServer, registers the AmiRtd.Server component, and generates a client keypair under the installation's keys/ directory.

2. Authorize this client on the Center

The Center rejects an unknown client at the TLS handshake, so authorize this machine's key before connecting:

  1. Take this machine's ssh-rsa public key from keys/client.pub in the installation directory. The generated keys/AUTHORIZE_THIS_CLIENT.txt carries the same key alongside its own instructions.
  2. Append that key to the file named by the Center's ami.center.ssl.authorized.clients.file property, default keys/3forge.auth.
  3. Restart the Center, which reads the allow-list only at startup.

3. Point the config at your Center

Edit ami_rtd_config.json in the installation directory. Set the cluster host and the shard port to your Center, and leave the shipped client_cert_file and client_key_file as they are:

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{
  "clusters": [
    { "name": "N1", "host": "your-center-host",
      "center_shards": [
        { "port": "3270", "use_ssl": true,
          "client_cert_file": "keys/client.crt.pem",
          "client_key_file": "keys/client.key.pem" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Connecting to a plain Center needs no username or password; add those only for a query gateway.

4. Confirm one value with the console driver

Before involving Excel, confirm the topic delivers data. Run the driver with a cluster and a topic, using a real table, a real row identity, and a real field:

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ami_rtd_test_driver.exe N1 <table>.<object_id>.<field>

It prints an update notification and the field values as they arrive. If it prints nothing, do not assume the topic is wrong: check ami_rtd.log in the installation directory for the connection and login result first, because the driver reports its startup as [OK] even when the connection failed. If it connects and subscribes but still prints no value, the table needs a keys entry naming the column that identifies its rows; add one (see Identifying rows) and run it again. See Troubleshooting.

5. Show the value in Excel

In a cell, enter the same cluster and topic as an RTD formula:

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=RTD("AmiRtd.Server",,"N1","<table>.<object_id>.<field>")

The cell shows 0 until the first value for that topic arrives, then the live value, refreshing as the Center pushes updates. A cell showing 0 has not necessarily received a zero, so confirm the first value against the Center rather than reading the cell alone.

Result

The console driver prints a live, updating value, confirming the RTD Server delivers data end to end. The same cluster and topic in an =RTD(...) cell then shows that value, refreshing in place as the Center pushes updates. Add more cells, each with its own topic, to watch further rows and fields; cells on the same table share one subscription.

Only the first topic on a table receives the table's current values when the subscription opens, so each cell added afterwards shows 0 until the field it watches next changes on the Center. A new sheet of 0 values is the expected starting state, not a fault.

The console driver is the quickest way to confirm delivery independently of Excel: if it prints values but a cell does not update, the problem is on the Excel or registration side rather than the connection. See Troubleshooting.