Show AllYou can use a spreadsheet to enter and calculate data. A spreadsheet consists of columns and rows of cells. You can enter data directly into the cells of the spreadsheet and perform calculations that are based on the data by using formulas. When you create an interactive spreadsheet by using one of the Microsoft Office 2003 design programs and put that spreadsheet on a Web page, you give Web users the opportunity to interact with the data and perform calculations directly in the browser. Users can make changes to the data and see the results of calculations automatically.
The following example is a spreadsheet on a Web page designed to be used as a mortgage calculator. When the user changes the values in the bordered input cells in the browser, the spreadsheet calculates the mortgage payment.
Browser and license requirements
To view and work with an interactive spreadsheet in the browser, users must have the Microsoft Office Web Components installed. They can do this by installing Office 2003 or, if their company has an Office 2003 site license, by downloading the Office Web Components from their intranet. Users must also use Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later.
Design programs you can use to create or modify spreadsheets
You can create and modify spreadsheets in several programs. You can create the spreadsheet in one program, and later use a different program to modify the spreadsheet or the Web page that it's on.
The choice of which design program you use depends on the amount of design or administrative work you want to do on the Web page itself, the type of data you want to use, and your own familiarity with different design programs.
Microsoft Excel If you want to try different formulas, adjust references, import data from other sources, or design an interactive chart to reflect the data in your spreadsheet, Excel is an excellent design environment to use to create spreadsheets.
You can format the spreadsheet and make adjustments to its size and appearance in another design program.
Microsoft FrontPage If you want to create a Web page or modify spreadsheets published from Excel, FrontPage is the recommended design program. You can create spreadsheets on Web pages in FrontPage in addition to modifying spreadsheets that were designed in other programs. Use the extensive Web page editing and administrative features of FrontPage to add controls, graphics, themes, and more to your Web page, and then make the page part of your Web site. FrontPage is available in Office 2003.
Microsoft Access If you want to create Web pages that operate on and display data from databases, and your users have Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later, use data access page Design view in Access to create spreadsheets. You can use Access to establish a connection from an Access database to the Web page, and then you can use formulas in the spreadsheet to return values from the database to the spreadsheet. Access is available in Office 2003.
Microsoft Visual Basic If you need a more comprehensive programming environment than the scripting capabilities provided by Excel, FrontPage, and Access, you can design spreadsheets in Visual Basic. Use Visual Basic when you want to include a spreadsheet or calculation engine in a custom solution. Users can view and interact with spreadsheets on the Visual Basic forms in your programs. Instead of a browser, your form becomes the run-time environment, and your program can automate many spreadsheet or calculation features.
Creating the spreadsheet and customizing it
To create a spreadsheet, follow the instructions in your design program to place a spreadsheet on your Web page. Then, you can enter data and formulas on the spreadsheet, or import data to use on the spreadsheet. To create a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel, see Help for saving or publishing worksheets in Excel.
Use the spreadsheet toolbar and Commands and Options dialog box After you have created a spreadsheet, you can change formatting and display options, set the size of the spreadsheet, protect cells, and more by using the Commands and Options dialog box and the spreadsheet toolbar.
Restrict access in the browser Even in a browser that fully supports spreadsheets, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later, users do not have access to some of the commands and features that you can use in a design program. To prevent users from making changes to data or formulas in the spreadsheet, you can set further restrictions.
Provide instructions You can add descriptive text, instructions, or other information about the spreadsheet by typing the text in a visible place on the spreadsheet or on the Web page.
Include a chart You can also display a chart of your spreadsheet data on your Web page. When a user in the browser changes the data displayed in the spreadsheet, the chart is automatically updated. For example, if your spreadsheet contains an amortization table that uses formulas to calculate mortgage payments, you can include an interactive chart on the Web page to show how principal and interest payments compare over time. If the user changes the interest rate or down-payment figures used in the formula, the spreadsheet formulas update the information, and the chart updates to reflect the latest figures.
Automate Many of the features and capabilities of a spreadsheet can be accessed and controlled with scripts. If you are familiar with writing scripts for Web pages in a language such as Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) or JavaScript, you can add scripts to the spreadsheet to do things such as getting values from a database and calculating information in the background.
Microsoft Office programs provide the Microsoft Script Editor for creating and modifying scripts. For information about writing scripts, see Help in your design program.
Check the spreadsheet in the browser Before making the spreadsheet available to your users, you should test it in the browser. If your users have different browser versions, you might want to test the spreadsheet in each version to make sure it displays and updates the information properly.
Make changes If you're not satisfied with the spreadsheet and the Web page, you can go back into the design program and make changes. For example, if you published the spreadsheet from Microsoft Excel, you can open the Web page with the spreadsheet in Microsoft FrontPage to make changes.
Publish the Web page When you are satisfied with the results, make your Web page available to your users. See Help for your design program for information about publishing Web pages, or consult your Web site administrator.
About the Spreadsheet Web Part
The Spreadsheet Web Part supports all of the features of the spreadsheet component, and can also support additional features specific to the Web Part, such as the ability to create Web Part connections that allow the Web Part to send or receive data from the selected row to other Web Parts.
Note The Spreadsheet Web Part has the same license requirements as the spreadsheet component, and requires Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later.
For more information about the Spreadsheet Web Part, see the following help topics in Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Help: "About the Spreadsheet Web Part," "Create a data-bound Spreadsheet Web Part," and "Create a connectable Spreadsheet Web Part." In the Table of Contents, click Excel and the Web and then click Use the Spreadsheet Web Part.