| Q: |
Is
OfficeWriter a pure .NET solution? |
| A: |
OfficeWriter
combines WordWriter and ExcelWriter. WordWriter is a pure
.NET product. ExcelWriter includes two principle objects:
ExcelTemplate and ExcelApplication. ExcelTemplate generates
a spreadsheet from a template and ExcelApplication generates
a spreadsheet from scratch. The ExcelTemplate object is
pure .NET. ExcelApplication is a COM object that is available
in .NET through Interop. AspCompat=True is not required
to use the ExcelApplication object in .NET. |
| Q: |
What
are OfficeWriter's server requirements? |
| A: |
There
are four primary server requirements to run OfficeWriter
on the server:
|
| Q: |
What
ADO.NET data sources can be used with OfficeWriter? |
| A: |
OfficeWriter
can import database values to a Word or Excel file from
several different ADO.NET objects: DataSet, DataTable,
SqlDataReader, and OleDbDataReader. OfficeWriter can also
populate Office reports from 1-dimensional arrays, rectangular
arrays, and jagged array. |
| Q: |
How
do I migrate my Interop-based ExcelWriter application
to use the new pure .NET ExcelTemplate object? |
| A: |
There
are four main areas where you will need to make modifications:
- Namespace and object instantiation
- Setting data sources
- Template processing and saving
- Data marker syntax
ExcelWriter includes many sample ASP.NET applications
- in both VB.NET and C# - that demonstrate how to use
the new .NET ExcelTemplate object. For more information,
see the ExcelWriter
documentation and Migrating
ExcelTemplate Applications from Interop to Pure .NET.
|
| Q: |
Can
I use the Interop-based ExcelApplication object with
the pure .NET ExcelTemplate object? |
| A: |
ExcelWriter
allows you to generate a spreadsheet from script alone
- using the ExcelApplication object - or from a template
spreadsheet and a script - using the ExcelTemplate object.
ExcelTemplate provides an intuitive high-performance way
to import database values to a spreadsheet, but you cannot
otherwise modify a spreadsheet at runtime. ExcelApplication's
rich object model allows you to modify every aspect of
the spreadsheet at runtime. ExcelWriter can easily pass
a spreadsheet in .NET from the Interop-based ExcelApplication
object to the pure .NET ExcelTemplate object and vice versa,
allowing you to take advantage of the features in both
objects. |
| Q: |
Does
the automatic installer place OfficeWriter's .NET assemblies
into the Global Assembly Cache (GAC)? |
| A: |
Both
Microsoft and SoftArtisans recommend against installing
.NET assemblies in the GAC unless necessary. It is possible
to have multiple versions of the same assembly in the GAC,
which can lead to confusion as to which one is being used.
This confusion can be avoided by placing the needed assemblies
in the bin directories of individual applications.
In ExcelWriter, it is left up to the developer to choose
whether to integrate SAXW5NET.dll globally (through the
GAC) or at the application level (in bin directories).
After installing ExcelWriter, you will find a copy of the
assembly in "C:\Program Files\SoftArtisans\OfficeWriter\Doc-Samples\ExcelWriter\Samples\bin" folder.
You can then manually install a copy of SAXW5NET.dll to
the GAC. See the ExcelWriter documentation for instructions.
WordWriter includes the .NET assembly SAWW2NET.dll and
SAWW2CCW.dll, a COM callable wrapper (CCW) that allows
you to use WordWriter from ASP. The .NET assembly is installed
in the GAC to allow the CCW to work. If you do not plan
to use WordWriter in ASP, and you do not want to provide
global access to the assembly, you can remove SAWW2NET.dll
from the GAC. |
OfficeWriter
.NET FAQ
