[DUG]: Interfacing to Excel

[Colin Dillicar]

Guidance please.     I have asked a similar question previously but not had a satisfactory response. Here's hoping.     I need to be able to create a text "Master" file and append data to it from time to time from a delphi application.     On occassions an operator will need to asyncronously access this file and use Excel to manipulate and display the current data. I'm hoping to have this process initiated within my application, firstly creating an Excel compatible (*.csv) copy of the "Master" text file thus ensuring that the original isn't used and maybe altered in some way, then calling Excel.     I have run many applications from within Delphi using the following code example :            WinExec('C:\Windows\NotePad.exe C:\Temp\Sample.txt',sw_normal);                                                                          { Displays the text file 'Sample.txt' in Windows Notepad}   This is similar to starting the Notepad program, with an argument, from the Application "RUN" menu.   Wheras calling Excel in the same way eg:-             WinExec('C:\MicrosoftOffice\Office\Excel.exe Sample.csv', sw_normal); will not start Excel and automatically load the 'Sample.csv' file, and neither can I make it start in a similar fashion from the Windows Application "RUN" menu.     What is so different about Excel?  I can call it from Explorer. I can even double-click on a .CSV file in explorer and start Excel by association thus loading and displaying the file I clicked on.   I have also tried connecting to Excel by setting up a Server Link to an Excel component on a form using D5 but somehow I'm missing something in the process.     Please :- How best should I do this? Preferably in the simplest way possible. Sample code would be appreciated.    TIA       Colin