Forcing HTML file to open in Excel

[wajdi]

Hi All

How can I make HTML file open in Excel programmatically? I can drag it into Excel and it will open no problem. but I need this done programmatically.

The file is a download from webpage, it will prompt the user to Open or Save, I need when the user click Open it will open in Excel 2003/2007

That is what I have now:

Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename="test.html");
Response.ContentType = "application/ms-excel";
Response.Buffer = true;
System.IO.FileStream myFileStream = new System.IO.FileStream("test.html", System.IO.FileMode.Open);
long FileSize = myFileStream.Length;
byte[] Buffer = new byte[(int)FileSize];
myFileStream.Read(Buffer, 0, (int)FileSize);
myFileStream.Close();
myFileStream.Dispose();
Response.BinaryWrite(Buffer);
Response.Flush();
File.Delete(sPath);
Response.Close();

Thanks in advance

[kfcSmitty]

That isn't possible.

Your program is running on the web server and the users local machine is what gets to choose what program to open a file in.

If you need this file opened in excel, why aren't you creating an excel file?

[AceInfinity]

@kfcSmitty: I wouldn't say impossible, if it does what he wants dragging the file into Excel. --> Command line arguments

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\EXCEL.EXE" %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\index.html

[jmcilhinney]

@kfcSmitty: I wouldn't say impossible, if it does what he wants dragging the file into Excel. --> Command line arguments

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\EXCEL.EXE" %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\index.html

Yes, but how is a web application/site supposed to execute a commandline like that? Simply put, it can't. The web application is running in the user's browser so you'd have to get the browser to do it, but you don't choose what functionality the browser provides. If the file is to be opened in Excel then the user will have to do that themselves.

[AceInfinity]

Ahh, I didn't notice the methods being used, I just seen the regular IO stuff, and there was no mention that this was ASP.