Excel and Forms

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Excel and Forms
 
Bob Frisch




Posts: 4
 Joined: 2006-07-07
Hello all.

I am writing an Excel add-in that manipulates spreadsheets using a form. I am looking for advice on how to best implement using Add-In Express. I would like the integration between the form and the spreadsheet to be interactive. For example, I would like to be able to have the ActiveCell in the sheet to move when the user drags the form, I would like to be able to drag-drop form items (currently in a listview) onto the worksheet, I would like to be able to drag-drop from the worksheet to the form.

I need to support Office 2000+ and can do the development in Visual Studio 2003, 2005 or even VB 6/VBA.

I?Â?Ð?ém not sure whether these are possible using Add-In Express or vba. Do you have any suggestions?

In its current form our application is a standard add-in for Excel (.xla file) and Word (.dot file). We are adding Outlook functionality in our next release.

A basic overview of our product is that it allows users to do their work in Word and Excel then transfer the data to a centralized database for reports, analysis, etc.

Primary functions are:

1. Mapping Fields

Our tool allows users to map fields in their documents to fields in our database. The user selects a menu option and the form appears. The form is basicaly a listview of fields. The user selects a listview item, activates a cell and clicks a button to map the field. This tool is a vba form, but I want to move it to a .Net form.

2. Importing/Exporting Data

A menu option allows the user to import/export to the database. Currently we use MS SOAP 3.0 SDK, which is being deprecated and needs to be moved to .Net. Our add-ins communicate with a webservice to perform these functions.

3. Attaching Documents to DB Items

From within Word/Excel/Outlook, we need to be able to upload documents (using a webservice) to our website. The user will select a menu item which displays a form. The form will allow the user to search for the item (usually a commercial mortgage loan) and upload the document to it.

4. Client/Server side feedback.

A form connected to the web service will let the user know the status of the upload and data transfer.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated
Posted 07 Jul, 2006 12:05:57 Top
Sergey Grischenko


Add-in Express team


Posts: 7233
 Joined: 2004-07-05
Hi Bob.

The most of your requirements can be implemented using the Excel Object Model and the basic functionality of .NET classes. In case of using Add-in Express you will get a tool that will allow you to concentrate on the add-in functionality and not on the manipulating Office toolbars/controls.
Add-in Express supports Office 2000 and later. It provides all events that you need to interact with the host application.
To manipulate spreadsheets you can use a 'stay-on-top' form. As you probably know that .NET forms support 'drag-and-drop' operations and you will manage to integrate the form and Excel worksheets.
We have a little example that shows on how you can use 'drag-and-drop' functionality to integrate Excel and .NET forms. You can download it here:
http://www.add-in-express.com/projects/dragndropaddin.zip
Posted 10 Jul, 2006 15:06:13 Top