OWC10, Registry, Security and other questions...

[Claude Vernier]

Hello,

I would need a great help using OWC in my web application
If this is not the right newsgroup, please accept my apologies and
please forward me where it belongs.

I already published a first version of a web site where, users can have
access to
our OLAP cubes using pivot tables and linked charts.
This web page is available through intranet, extranet and internet.

I have several questions:

1: My HTML page contains this:
<OBJECT id=OWCPivotTable classid=clsid:0002E552-0000-0000-C000-000000000046
name=OWCPivotTable VIEWASTEXT>
<PARAM NAME="XMLData" VALUE='<xml ...
<x:OWCVersion>10.0.0.6765</x:OWCVersion> ... </xml>'>
</OBJECT>

I would like to know:
- What's the purpose of "VIEWASTEXT", is there alternatives to that option ?
- About the version tag: "<x:OWCVersion>10.0.0.6765". Does it imply that
the OWC does a check on the version and that older or newer OWC won't work
with that query ?

2.My users can save the XML behind the OWC and load it back later, to improve
the performances, I would like to use AJAX to transfer the XML and load it in
the Pivot table, is there any "best practices" on this usage ?

I have several cases where my users can't use the pivot tables:
-First time users, they receive a big and scary message to, basicaly,
ask them to include my web site inside their "Trusted Sites". Is there a way
to
detect those machines before the message appears so I could explain all to
the
users and provide a script ?
- Old Office version: I can detect if a user has no OWC installed. In that
case, I'm using AJAX to display a message and show the content of the
..HTMLData property
but it seems that some users have the OWC installed but with an incorrect
version.
Is there any "best practices" to do this and avoid version problems ?
- Office 2003: I do develop and test using OfficeXP but some users are
using Office 2003, my javascript detects that OWC is there but some other
javascript seems to
fail. Toolbar editing for example. Is there any "best practices" to detect
Office 2003 and
to know what objects does not work anymore ?

4.Whenever the OWC appears, the user always need to click on it to activate
it.
Is there a way to automate this step ?

5. I also have this object <OBJECT id=OWCPivotChart
classid=clsid:0002E556-0000-0000-C000-000000000046
VIEWASTEXT>, its datasource is attached to the pivot table. Is there any
"best practices" on how to link PivotChart and PivotTable, any problems I
should
look for ?


Thanks for any help, please excuse my english, don't hesitate to correct me
or ask clearer explanations.
Claude Vernier

 

[Alvin Bruney]

- What's the purpose of "VIEWASTEXT", is there alternatives to that option

?

It's a directive to the control to render the information as text and not as
anything else - say an object for instance.

- About the version tag: "<x:OWCVersion>10.0.0.6765". Does it imply that
the OWC does a check on the version and that older or newer OWC won't work
with that query ?

Version information are used for a variety of things from permissions to
security. Functionality can change significantly in different major
versions. However, minor version numbers 6765 do not contain significant
changes.

2.My users can save the XML behind the OWC and load it back later, to
improve
the performances, I would like to use AJAX to transfer the XML and load it
in
the Pivot table, is there any "best practices" on this usage ?

Ajax should work rather nicely. It's just a mechanism to get post data and
retrieve data from the client.

ask them to include my web site inside their "Trusted Sites". Is there a
way
to
detect those machines before the message appears so I could explain all

No, the inclusion of a site is a security initiative that must be explicitly
done by the end-user.

fail. Toolbar editing for example. Is there any "best practices" to detect
Office 2003 and
to know what objects does not work anymore ?

That is where the version number comes into play. Your sniffer script should
look for a specific version and prompt the user for an upgrade if the
minimum requirements are not met. For instance, OWC version 9 does not allow
toolbar customization, however versions 10 and later do. There are sniffer
scripts posted in here if you care to google.

4.Whenever the OWC appears, the user always need to click on it to
activate
it.
Is there a way to automate this step ?

No, this is security issue with ActiveX controls in general.

"best practices" on how to link PivotChart and PivotTable, any problems I
should
look for ?

Claude, you have more knowledge about OWC best practices than most people in
here, so you should be *creating a best practices guide

--

________________________
Warm regards,
Alvin Bruney [MVP ASP.NET]

[Shameless Author plug]
Professional VSTO.NET - Wrox/Wiley
The O.W.C. Black Book with .NET
www.lulu.com/owc, Amazon
Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/blogs/alvin
-------------------------------------------------------

 

[Claude Vernier]

Thanks Alvin,

I definitely should go out and buy your book...


Claude

- What's the purpose of "VIEWASTEXT", is there alternatives to that option
?

It's a directive to the control to render the information as text and not as
anything else - say an object for instance.

- About the version tag: "<x:OWCVersion>10.0.0.6765". Does it imply that
the OWC does a check on the version and that older or newer OWC won't work
with that query ?

Version information are used for a variety of things from permissions to
security. Functionality can change significantly in different major
versions. However, minor version numbers 6765 do not contain significant
changes.

2.My users can save the XML behind the OWC and load it back later, to
improve
the performances, I would like to use AJAX to transfer the XML and load it
in
the Pivot table, is there any "best practices" on this usage ?

Ajax should work rather nicely. It's just a mechanism to get post data and
retrieve data from the client.

ask them to include my web site inside their "Trusted Sites". Is there a
way
to
detect those machines before the message appears so I could explain all

No, the inclusion of a site is a security initiative that must be explicitly
done by the end-user.

fail. Toolbar editing for example. Is there any "best practices" to detect
Office 2003 and
to know what objects does not work anymore ?

That is where the version number comes into play. Your sniffer script should
look for a specific version and prompt the user for an upgrade if the
minimum requirements are not met. For instance, OWC version 9 does not allow
toolbar customization, however versions 10 and later do. There are sniffer
scripts posted in here if you care to google.

4.Whenever the OWC appears, the user always need to click on it to
activate
it.
Is there a way to automate this step ?

No, this is security issue with ActiveX controls in general.

"best practices" on how to link PivotChart and PivotTable, any problems I
should
look for ?

Claude, you have more knowledge about OWC best practices than most people in
here, so you should be *creating a best practices guide

--

________________________
Warm regards,
Alvin Bruney [MVP ASP.NET]

[Shameless Author plug]
Professional VSTO.NET - Wrox/Wiley
The O.W.C. Black Book with .NET
www.lulu.com/owc, Amazon
Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/blogs/alvin
-------------------------------------------------------

Hello,

I would need a great help using OWC in my web application
If this is not the right newsgroup, please accept my apologies and
please forward me where it belongs.

I already published a first version of a web site where, users can have
access to
our OLAP cubes using pivot tables and linked charts.
This web page is available through intranet, extranet and internet.

I have several questions:

1: My HTML page contains this:
<OBJECT id=OWCPivotTable
classid=clsid:0002E552-0000-0000-C000-000000000046
name=OWCPivotTable VIEWASTEXT>
<PARAM NAME="XMLData" VALUE='<xml ...
<x:OWCVersion>10.0.0.6765</x:OWCVersion> ... </xml>'>
</OBJECT>

I would like to know:
- What's the purpose of "VIEWASTEXT", is there alternatives to that option
?
- About the version tag: "<x:OWCVersion>10.0.0.6765". Does it imply that
the OWC does a check on the version and that older or newer OWC won't work
with that query ?

2.My users can save the XML behind the OWC and load it back later, to
improve
the performances, I would like to use AJAX to transfer the XML and load it
in
the Pivot table, is there any "best practices" on this usage ?

I have several cases where my users can't use the pivot tables:
-First time users, they receive a big and scary message to, basicaly,
ask them to include my web site inside their "Trusted Sites". Is there a
way
to
detect those machines before the message appears so I could explain all to
the
users and provide a script ?
- Old Office version: I can detect if a user has no OWC installed. In that
case, I'm using AJAX to display a message and show the content of the
.HTMLData property
but it seems that some users have the OWC installed but with an incorrect
version.
Is there any "best practices" to do this and avoid version problems ?
- Office 2003: I do develop and test using OfficeXP but some users are
using Office 2003, my javascript detects that OWC is there but some other
javascript seems to
fail. Toolbar editing for example. Is there any "best practices" to detect
Office 2003 and
to know what objects does not work anymore ?

4.Whenever the OWC appears, the user always need to click on it to
activate
it.
Is there a way to automate this step ?

5. I also have this object <OBJECT id=OWCPivotChart
classid=clsid:0002E556-0000-0000-C000-000000000046
VIEWASTEXT>, its datasource is attached to the pivot table. Is there any
"best practices" on how to link PivotChart and PivotTable, any problems I
should
look for ?


Thanks for any help, please excuse my english, don't hesitate to correct
me
or ask clearer explanations.
Claude Vernier