This is a bit tedious compared to fully automated, but it's fully do-able. If the deep sky planner author wants to she can convert this messing around in excel to a direct Guide 8 .etb output, basic .etb commands and formatting ain't changed in years.
First, I've using this as I don't own the product :-
http://knightware.biz/dsp/ease_of_use.htm
which suggests you can export a report in .csv format, although I'd hope that report would be not full of extraneous coding, if there are needless headers and footers, you'll have to delete those in a text editor first.
Now, using this piccie as an example :-
http://knightware.biz/dsp/ease_of_use.htm#reporting
I'm going to assume you've exported a report containing the columns, and _only_ those columns selected in the report generator
Object, Common Name, Cross Ref, Type, RA, Dec
As it is supposed to be comma delimited, import that into Excel as is, via the standard import route. If it is a clean .csv, and called .csv, just double clicking on the file will do this.
You will have a column for each of the above, the columns will be
A, B, C, D, E, F
That would do, but I'm going to move a coupla columns just for the sake of example.
First ensure columns are wide enough to display the text fully.
Move columns B, C and D to the rightmost.
Delete the three remaining empty columns.
Now column A will be the Object, Column B RA and Column C declination.
Highlight column C and use find and replace to replace whatever symbol excel has given you instead of a degree symbol with the letter d, replace all.
Insert a column before column A, make it one character wide, in the first cell of that column enter a ^ symbol, goto bottom right of cell and when the cursor becomes a + shape, double click, this will fill down with ^ symbols to end of the object list.
Object column is now column B, between this and RA column C insert another column.
make it 4 characters wide
enter //gr in the first cell, copy down as before.
RA column is now column D and Dec column is now column E, insert another column only one character wide, enter a , in the first cell, copy down.
Dec column is now column F.
Insert another column, one character wide, place the ^ symbol in the first cell, and copy down.
Two lines need to be inserted at the top of all this, do it now and enter
e; Title of Choice
on the first line and ! on the second line and export as a .prn file OR
export it now as a .prn file, filename of choice, and edit it in notepad and insert a header line, eg
e; Tuesday's Deepsky Targets
and then a second line just saying !
rename the .prn file to a .etb file
Copy it to your Guide directory.
From the first example at the above url for the report, which is for M1, you should now have something like this
e; Messier Objects for Tuesday
!
^M1 //gr05h34m30s,+22d01'00"^ Crab Nebula NGC 1952 NB
as your first line, if I've not got muddled on me columns.
In Guide you Extra->Miscellaneous Tables, or use the Toolbar Button, and double click on the one in the dialogue box list that says "Messier Objects for Tuesday".
The M1 bit on the displayed screen will be in red underlined.
The coords (remember, you'd to change the degree symbol to a d globally) are invisible, and the words after the second ^ are in black and readable as comments, all in a size adjustable help screen.
If M1 to Mwhatever were there, you'd just select, click on, the relevant underlined red link of the Messier object of choice, and Guide would go there.
This is incredibly dependent upon the deepsky report and export generators doing what they say they do on that webpage, and exporting only the selected columns out in flat ascii to a .csv file, which is what exporting to .csv should and normally does mean.
And that's far quicker to do than write up.
I show it in Excel, because if I gave a bit of BASIC code, which is just about all I can program in nowadays, and then only just, no one will be able to use it. Most folk have access to a spreadsheet that imports csv. It doesn't necessarily have to be excel, it can be open office's spreadsheet or whatever, as long as it supports .csv import and flat ascii text export. The other bits I've noted are somewhat universal spreadsheet features, although automated fill down might not be.
That's it, done, your etb file ready in Guide for the night's observing, probaby barely took a minute. In excel the column moving, deleting and inserting could even be recorded as a macro, then you'd only have to fill them with the characters ^, , and ^ . Doesn't always work like that for all things done when recording, but some of it at least could be recorded as a reusable macro, to save time.
And deepskyplanner could include this readily as an exportable report format, and such a basic one would fit Guide readily, with etb being stable in basic shape for years.
I believe Guide can also be launched with some simple command arguments, and that's been discussed on these lists too, but I don't remember it too well or what the details are.
Deep Sky Planner could've used that too.
A line saying Guide and whatever the goto is for M1 could be sent to a command prompt. Not so sure about that one, but I remember something recently being said about invoking Guide to a place on the sky.
I've found several planners around when googling, I think its up to them to find interoperability, not just the one of your choice, seeing as each beast will do things differently, and planners are useless without GOTOs or charts, but charting programs can be geared up to telescope pointing kit and plot charts. Can't deep sky planner point telescopes directly via this ascom code or something anyway, like other software does? Do you even need a charting proggie?
As I say, I've been rolling me own ETB files for years for quick object goto, it's the quickest and easiest way to find lots of stuff one after the other, in order, in Guide. And I'm talking up to hundreds of objects that all needed checking as candidate binaries or variable stars or QSOs or whatever, at times for actual formal publishing, not just a handful of deepsky objects. The etb system even allows for outlinking to web resources, should you be observing with internet access, using the //xhttp command inserted in a ^ doublet.
Cheers
John