Manipulate MSOffice programs from web page or smart client?

[R Reyes]

Hi, what is the best way to manipulate MSOffice programs? i understand that
regular web pages do not have the permissions (because of safety measures) to
open up MS word/excel programs, for example, from a web site.

What I need is a strategy for the best way to open up word/excel
applications and manipulate them by adding/removing text, formatting, and
doing mail merge types of transactions. Would ActiveX be the best strategy
to accomplish this from a web page?

I am trying NOT to make a desktop application only because people want to be
able to use this program from remote locations. I have also taken a look at
smart clients but I am not sure how difficult it is to code them or if it is
even a good idea?

Any thoughts or comments are welcome. Thanks in advance.

[MJT]

Assuming you just want to do manipulation Office docs in the background,
without any UI, I suggest you write a COM object which uses Automation calls
(aka ActiveX) to control Office apps, then install that under COM+, running
under a standard account X. You should then ensure the user profile for X is
always loaded on the server, for example by running some random Service under
account X. Call the COM object from ASP or ASP.Net.

MS does not support this sort of thing, but it works just fine.

Obviously you should make sure you have suitable Office licences...

"R Reyes" wrote:

Hi, what is the best way to manipulate MSOffice programs? i understand that
regular web pages do not have the permissions (because of safety measures) to
open up MS word/excel programs, for example, from a web site.

What I need is a strategy for the best way to open up word/excel
applications and manipulate them by adding/removing text, formatting, and
doing mail merge types of transactions. Would ActiveX be the best strategy
to accomplish this from a web page?

I am trying NOT to make a desktop application only because people want to be
able to use this program from remote locations. I have also taken a look at
smart clients but I am not sure how difficult it is to code them or if it is
even a good idea?

Any thoughts or comments are welcome. Thanks in advance.