We're working on a Excel Add-In in C# .Net 4.
One of the requirements is to update a worksheet with results of some processing.
The issue is, we need to do this both while the Excel file is open (with the Add-In), and also in batch (while the file is closed).
We have a SpreadsheetGear licence already to generate Excel files.
Is it possible to modify an XLS file whilst it is open in Excel, using SpreadsheetGear?
Or must we have two sets of code to generate the same information? One using Excel Interop for open files, and one using SpreadsheetGear on closed files?
Got a direct response from SpreadsheetGear.
SpreadsheetGear runs on a totally separate process from Excel and has
no way to access their runtime and/or currently opened workbooks—our
product was built from the ground up using the .NET Framework
libraries and has absolutely no dependencies from Excel. The only way
to access files like you require would be to first save them to disk
from Excel and then open them with SpreadsheetGear.
So it looks as if we'll have to implement two sets of code to do the same thing.
Related
Our application exports snippets of databases in XLSX format. We wrote our own code on top of System.Packaging as it is many (many!) times faster than using the Excel objects.
Right now we save these files with a .xlsx format, and that works OK. However, it would be much nicer if double-clicking one of these opened our app instead, but failed back to Excel on machines without it.
I know that SpreadsheetML has a feature to do this. If you insert this near the top of the file:
<?mso-application progid=""Excel.Sheet""?>
some sort of magic occurs that causes Excel to open on Win machines. While this might work in SML files, it does not appear to work in "real" xlsx files - I tried adding this line to various parts of the workbook structure but it remained unrecognized.
So is there a similar mechanism we can use in "true" XLSX files generated by System.Packaging? Or some other Windows mechanism we should use in these situations?
We are using TFS as source control system and I would like to implement the following:
We have Excel files on multiple workstations (all connected to TFS) that shall always use the latest version of a macro.
Therefore, I thought about somehow defining the macro in an external file which is under source control and can be centrally maintained and mapped to the local workspace of the workstations where the Excel files are located.
Within the VBA section of the Excel files, there should only be a link to that file so that always the latest version of the macro is used (assuming that the user made a GetLatest operation on the external file containing the macro).
Is a scenario like this technically possible? If yes, how can I define that the Excel file has to import the macro from the external file?
If I understand you correctly referring to the macro containing file as an Addin should do the job.
I would like to write a module in Matlab for writing to an excel file. I am using Openoffice in Windows Vista.
I have a module which would work with Microsoft excel, since I donot have Microsoft office, it would throw an exception.
Here is the Matlab code segment which I would like to change to work for openoffice
Excel = actxserver ('Excel.Application');
This code segment is throwing an exception. Any idea how to change the code to work for open office?
I am not familiar with the Matlab API's that I need to use to read/write excel files
That's not exactly Matlab's doing there. You're creating an Excel ActiveX object and create the file through that. The result is that Excel itself is writing the file as you're only controlling Excel.
OpenOffice seems to allow something similar, even though ActveX. Here is an introduction. But you likely have to re-create all code that creates the file from scratch, as the APIs are incompatible.
As #Joey says, you need to re-write all of the excel-related code in order to get Excel to create the XLS file. If you need to write something that allows you to switch between Excel and OpenOffice depending on what is installed, then I would do it using the MATLAB OOP features by creating an abstract base class that implements the process and deriving classes to wrap the Excel- and OOO-based low-level commands.
Thinking that to solve a problem I've got this is the fastest solution:
Generate a custom CSV file on the file (this is already done via Perl).
Have a XLS document opened via commandline via a scripting language (clients already got a few Perl scripts running in this pipeline.)
Write VBA or record a macro that executes the following OnLoad:
Imports a the data from the CSV file into the report template,
Print the file via PDF driver to fixed location using data in the CSV to name the file.
Closes the XLS file.
So, is this possible via Excel macros, if not is it possible via VBA -- thanks!
NOTE: Appears I've got to have a copy of MS Office anyway, so this is much faster to get going than using Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO). The report template is going to be on a server, and this way the end user can build as many reports as they like, "test" by printing a PDF using a demo CSV file, and import/embed the marco or VBA when they're done. I'd looked in Jasper Reports, but the end user is putting ad-hoc static text and groupings all over the report and I figure this way they can build reports how ever they want and then automate them. Both of these questions by me and the resulting comments/feedback are related to this question:
In Excel, is it possible to automate reading of CSV data into a template and printing it to PDF from the commandline?
Is it possible to deploy a VB application made in Excel as a stand alone app?
FOCUS OF QUESTION: Again, focus of the question is if this is possible via Excel marcos, if not macros VBA, and if there's any huge issue with this approach; for example, I know this is going to be "slow" since Excel would be loaded per job, but there's 16GB of ram on the server and it's not used at all. Figure since I've got to have a copy of office on the server anyway, this is a much faster approach.
If you've got any questions, let me know via comments.
I suppose you could launch the report file from perl and then have a macro inside the report file automatically look for the newest csv file to import. Then you could process and output. So you just need to launch the proper excel file with the embedded macros from perl and then let excel and VBA take over.
we use an application that has an "export to excel" feature that doesn't work on PC's that done have outlook express installed.
i know, you're thinking "WTF does outlook express have to do with excel files?"
i asked the same thing, and here's what i found:
the file being generated is actually one of those Microsoft Single File Web Pages (.mht) and NOT an excel file
you need to have outlook express installed to actually view a .mht file.
i've explained to their support people that just because you can slap a .xls on a file and excel will open it does not mean its an excel file, and does not mean that this is the right way to do it.
how would you explain that this is not proper?
Many people (especially managers) confuse Excel files with reporting files. In my opinion, a file is only qualified as an Excel file if it meets all of these conditions:
Is a spreadsheet formatted in one of the many Microsoft Excel formats.
Can be opened in the most recent version of Microsoft Excel.
Is editable in Microsoft Excel.
In your case, I'm guessing only condition #3 is met, so it's no Excel file. But your support people may still call it a reporting file.
If a clean Windows image with only Excel installed can't open it, then it isn't in Excel format. Period.
If a Windows machine with Outlook Express, but without Excel can open it (if you change the extension) then it can't be an Excel file. I'd combine that with Ignacio's suggestion for a slam-dunk.
Plus, surely if it's MHT, then you can't actually do spreadsheet operations on it? Or am I misunderstanding how it works?
I don't think your statements are correct. Excel (2007) has import and export filters for single-file HTML documents (.mht) even if there is no Outlook Express installed. However, this is not a native format and worksheet features such as formulas cannot be retained (see http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HP100141051033.aspx#7)
So what you should make clear to your customers is that there is a difference between an applications native file format and a format which isn't designed to contain spreadsheet functionality and that is only supported via an import/export filter.