[khemikool]

So I've been holding off on taking the lab for Analytical chemistry because of how much of a pain it is to write the lab reports. It just seems redundant to enter all of my data into excel and then do numerous calculations with it, format it into nice looking charts and graphs and then import it all into word while I'm writing the report, only to have to retype all of my calculations out in MS Word again.

I was wondering if there was a program anyone else knows of that wont cause me to waste so much time writing the lab report and is easy enough to use that I can master it in time for the fall semester? Also I use a mac so I would prefer suggestions for OS X however I can get Windows running on a separate partition of my hard drive if I have to.

[Arkcon]

This is a common question, and one that I'd found hard to understand, but you've articulated it better than most, so thanks.  I think you've got a rhythm down, text in Word, charts and calcs in Excel.  Maybe you could streamline the whole process by looking for some freeware macros or some open source 3rd party apps that streamline the process.  I'm still wondering how much more streamlined it could be -- how else is your data stored?  Do you want to just photocopy your lab notebook?  Generally, when I do an experiment, all results goes into the lab notebook -- in my case -- a baby step above chicken scratches.  I can't report data that way, people want summaries, and clear charts.