What does it take to create an interactive web form that reads data off a Windows server? Well, if you can create a prototype in Excel, SpreadsheetConverter ASP.Net version 5 converts your prototype into a full-fledged Windows server application.
The SpreadsheetConverter add-on to Microsoft Excel lets you automatically convert Excel spreadsheets to live web pages, with all calculations performed by separate server components running in the Internet Information Server (IIS) on any Windows server.
The conversion to web format retains the interactivity that is typical of a spreadsheet, and the entire visual layout is carried over to the web page.
All calculations are performed on the server by separate ASP.Net or classic ASP modules, freeing the browser from the workload required to do all the computations. This enables the browser to handle complex user interface logic even for very large web pages.
Our primary asset is a standard library of functions that correspond to what you can do in Excel. If it can be done in Excel, it can now easily be ported to a client/server web environment.
A classic disadvantage of moving workload to a server is that the user is forced to enter all information at once, press a “send” button, then wait until the server responds. With version 5 of SpreadsheetConverter ASP.Net, the browser can communicate each little change separately to the server with asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX). While the user moves on to edit the next field in the form, the server dynamically instructs the browser to update any fields or charts that were affected by the previous data entry.
AJAX has been around since 2005 and is pretty much standard fare these days. Even Google uses it, in Gmail and Google Maps, and it’s supported in smartphones.
Since a portion of the web page resides on the server, it’s much easier to fetch data in a database, e.g. the current interest rate, or interact with other server applications. Read all the details in our Tutorials section.
SpreadsheetConverter products have published spreadsheets on the web since 2002, with formula calculation in JavaScript, Flash. ASP.Net or Java. To test-drive any of these products, visit the Download page.
Published on Sept 13, 2010.
