| Q: |
What software
is required on the client to view reports generated by
OfficeWriter? |
| A: |
To open a document generated by OfficeWriter for Word,
you can use:
- Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002 (XP), or 2003.
- Microsoft's free Word
Viewer. The Word Viewer allows the user to view
and print Word 97 and 2000 files, but not to modify
them.
- Another application that supports the Word format,
such as, StarOffice or OpenOffice for
Unix.
To open a spreadsheet generated by OfficeWriter for
Excel, you can use:
- Microsoft Excel 95, 97, 2000, 2002 (XP), 2003.
- Microsoft's free Excel
Viewer. The Excel Viewer allows the user to view
and print an Excel spreadsheet, but not to modify
it.
- Another application that supports the Excel format,
such as, Quattro Pro or Gnome.
|
| Q: |
What
versions of Microsoft Excel does OfficeWriter for Excel
support? |
| A: |
OfficeWriter
for Excel can produce either Excel 97/2000/2002/2003 (BIFF8)
format files or Excel 95 (BIFF7) format files. Not all
features are supported by Excel 95. Note: The ExcelTemplate
object supports Excel's BIFF8 (Excel 97/2000/2002/2003)
format only; ExcelTemplate does not support BIFF7 (Excel
95) format templates, and will not generate BIFF7 format
files. |
| Q: |
What
versions of Microsoft Word does OfficeWriter support? |
| A: |
OfficeWriter
for Word supports Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002 (XP), and
2003. Note: OfficeWriter templates can be created in Word
2003, however, if a template contains certain new Word
2003 features, OfficeWriter may throw an exception. This
issue only applies to the creation of templates; OfficeWriter-generated
output files can be viewed in Word 2003 with no limitations. |
| Q: |
How
do I create OfficeWriter templates? |
| A: |
An
OfficeWriter template is a .doc file that contains merge
fields or a .xls file that contains data markers. A data
marker or merge field specifies a database column, variable,
or array to insert in the spreadsheet column containing
the marker. OfficeWriter templates are created in Microsoft
Office and bound to data sources in code. When you run
the code, OfficeWriter populates the template with values
from one or more data sources. |
| Q: |
Can
I include more than one data source in a single OfficeWriter
for Word template? |
| A: |
Yes.
To populate a template from more than one data source,
or to import multiple rows from a data source, use repeat
blocks. A repeat block is a text fragment, a list, or a
table row in the template document, defined by a Word bookmark
that contains merge fields. In the OfficeWriter for Word
code, a data source is assigned to each repeat block. |
| Q: |
Can
OfficeWriter for Word merge documents or modify a document's
format at runtime? |
| A: |
No.
At runtime, OfficeWriter can open a template Word file,
populate it from data sources, and either save the new
file or stream it to the client. OfficeWriter for Word
cannot change a document's format, edit static content,
or merge multiple files at runtime. |
| Q: |
Does
OfficeWriter for Excel read existing spreadsheets? |
| A: |
Yes.
To read data from an existing spreadsheet, use the method
GetDataFromExcelSheet, or open the file using ExcelApplication.Open. |
| Q: |
Can
I generate a chart using OfficeWriter for Excel? |
| A: |
Yes.
Use the method Charts.Add to generate a chart. OfficeWriter
for Excel can generate 15 chart types and over 70 sub-types.
OfficeWriter's numerous charting properties allow you to
customize every detail of your chart. |
| Q: |
Can I offer native Excel and Word reports from my presentation-tier Java application? |
| A: |
Yes. Through a simple SOAP call, it's easy to generate native Excel and Word reports from your presentation-tier Java Web application. Check out our Web Service sample.
|
