Hosting Office in .NET applications
If you are building a .NET application and you are struggling to find a way to host Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, Visio drawings, Project files, or PowerPoint presentations, you might consider using the Visual C++ ActiveX Control for hosting Office documents. I learned about this download resource and I was shocked to see how you can add it to your solution and start working with Office applications in less than a minute. You can open Office applications, format content, update documents, save changes, print, and more inside your application. The Office Framer Control is an Active X control written in C++. The download includes source code to extend the functionality and sample code to use it inside Visual Basic 6 and HTML pages. You can also enable and disable specific functionality by using a full set of properties, methods, and events exposed for customization.
You can also host the control inside managed applications following these simple steps:
- Download and install the Office Framer Control 1.2 Sample.
- Start Visual Studio .NET.
- Open your WinForms or WebForms application.
- Add the DSO Framer Control to the Toolbox:
- On the Tools menu, click Customize Toolbox (in Visual Studio .NET 2002), or click Add/Remove Toolbox Items (in Visual Studio .NET 2003), and then click the COM Components tab.
- On the COM Components tab, select DSO Framer Control Object.
- Click OK to close the Customize Toolbox dialog box.
- Select the DSO Framer Control icon that appears in the ToolBox and drag-and-drop the control over the Form or Web Form.
- Adjust the control’s docking/size as needed.
- Build and run the application.
- Create a new document to test the control.
I have to warn you that the control is not supported, the control and the source code is provided AS-IS for customization. However, you still can extend the functionality and it does the job, so have a peek and enjoy!