Excel Web App API?

Anonymous

I think I already know the answer to this one, but I was wondering whether there was an API for the Excel Web App? Specifically, I was wondering if it was possible (or if it will be possible in the future) to expose data in a spreadsheet in the Excel Web App as an OData feed, in the way that it is possible with Excel Services?

Thanks,

Chris

Blog: http://cwebbbi.spaces.live.com Consultancy: http://www.crossjoin.co.uk/

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Anonymous

Hi Chris,

Clayton is right that we don't have an API for the Excel Web App that's available through SkyDrive now, though we do have a few that are available through Excel Services that is part of SharePoint (I'm not sure which you are referring to). In SharePoint we have:

a SOAP Web Service
a javascript OM available in the browser
a REST API

More details on all of these are available here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms582023.aspx

None of these return odata today, but I'd be very interested to hear the scenarios that you're thinking of for using Excel in this type of situation.

Cheers,

Dan

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44 additional answers

Anonymous

2010-06-23T15:33:14+00:00

A web-based spreadsheet without an easily accessed API amounts to cutting it off from the world of data around it. I do mashups against Google Spreadsheets all the time, and came over here looking to port the work, and make it Web-spreadsheet agnostic.

I'm disappointed. Just give me a credentials system and a REST API. I see the reference to having this in Sharepoint, but is there a lightweight way to do it? With login credentials and a restful API, we woudn't even need client libraries, Sharepoint, or any such software overhead. Just use the language of your choice, and bang against the spreadsheet.
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Anonymous

2010-06-23T15:38:24+00:00

A web-based spreadsheet without an easily accessed API amounts to cutting it off from the world of data around it. I do mashups against Google Spreadsheets all the time, and came over here looking to port the work, and make it Web-spreadsheet agnostic.

I'm disappointed. Just give me a credentials system and a REST API. I see the reference to having this in Sharepoint, but is there a lightweight way to do it? With login credentials and a restful API, we woudn't even need client libraries, Sharepoint, or any such software overhead. Just use the language of your choice, and bang against the spreadsheet.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jamie_thomson/ |@jamiet | About me
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Anonymous

2010-06-29T05:23:02+00:00

[Slightly disappointed by the lack of response here from the Office Web Apps team since Chris, Mike and I replied but nevertheless I'll keep plugging away.]

A new site call The Archivist has just launched at http://archivist.visitmix.com. They archive Tweets and then allow you to export that data into Excel for further analysis.

This is a great example of why an API for the Excel Web App is needed. I would much rather export to the web app than a bog standard .xlsx file. I can of course upload that file into Office Web Apps but I really don't want to have to take that circuitous route!!!

Thanks

Jamie

http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jamie_thomson/ |@jamiet | About me
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Anonymous

2010-07-01T03:51:20+00:00

From the Web App team, we completely understand the value of having APIs to get data in and out of Excel (and the other Web Apps). Like everything, we have to prioritize, and that functionality hasn't made it in yet.

From our POV, the most valuable thing is to hear/see examples of scenarios that can use these types of APIs. There are some good examples here to start - do you have others (and the more specific the example, the better).

Cheers,

Dan [MS]
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