Excel Spreadsheet (2005 VB.Net DEV)

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Hi all,

Just curious, I have an excel spreadsheet that I use at work, I would like to create a web based application. I am very new to vb.net, and new visual studio 2005, I have attached a spreadsheet, that I would like to replicate in a web based format. I have tried a few things like working with columns, but I can’t figure out how to create 96 columns, is there an easy way to do this?

Thanks,
Magoo.

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(Edited by jscher2000 on 09-Mar-07 15:49. )

I can’t help you with the VB.Net or ASP.Net, but I can tell you that web browsers bog down on large tables, so you should consider whether you really need 96 columns displayed all at the same time, or could get away with a more modest number — like 5-8 — and display the other information interactively, say, in a separate part of the page.

Edit: Okay, I should have looked at your page first… Perhaps you can put time on the vertical axis?

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Oddly enough, I’ve just been researching this topic myself.
Maybe Illustration of How to Publish an Interactive Excel Spreadsheet in HTML Bob Jensen at Trinity University might be of some help?

Alan

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Based on the example you’ve posted, it looks like you’re dealing mostly with a reporting scenario in this case. Is that correct?

If so, you’ll find that there are a number of ways to present data in web-based applications. It’s pretty easy to build a graphical report like yours using standard HTML tables along with the correct formatting applied.

Another common way is to use some existing web-based reporting component. There are many of these on the market (Telerik, Component One, and Active Reports come to mind). Generally, these components allow very flexible presentation of data, much like Excel’s graphing functionality.

Also, as Jefferson mentioned, replicating the grid-editing functionality of a spreadsheet in a web application is generally a bad design. Web applications are different animals and must be designed much more carefully than the average spreadsheet.

Hope this helps!

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I would like to thank all of you for your replies,

I have done some tutorials, and I would like to ask a couple more questions,
1. Is it possible to have more than 25 tables horizontally?
2. Is it possible to use VBA forms in a .net web application?
3.Is it possible to create a VB Form, and or a C# Form, within a Webpage, basically a web application, with a hidden form, or one that is on the server, and not on the webpage?

Any help is much appreciated,

Magoo

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Hi Magoo,

Based on your questions, I fear there are some misconceptions about the overall capabilities and limitations of web applications.

Can you provide some additional information about the purpose and features of your application? For instance, “I’m building a web application to manage data for newspaper printing schedules. Several reports will display the data in different ways.”

After seeing this information, I’m sure the forum will gladly provide some suggestions on the best ways to accomplish the goals using good design practices. Simply answering the questions you’ve asked without a broader context would very likely send you down the path of despair, in my humble opinion. (Trust me – we’ve all been down that path before…)

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Mark,

Thank you for your reply, I’m not really working on anything at the moment, I thought it might be a good idea to do some tutorials, based on the tutorials, try and come up with a way to display my original post on a web page. The file itself runs great, there is also a form done in VBA that formats and does some calculations based on the properties of the cells. The form is all command buttons that basically do the same thing, but based on the button it puts what ever product into it’s slot and gives it a colour, information, and a bunch of other stuff. What I would like to do is treat each day as a database, then load that information onto the server. The form that I created made it really easy to take care of a lot of issues without ever really knowing much about the operation.

I was messing around checking out the Msgbox function, I thought it was cool that I could use something that I have learned in VBA and use it. What I would really like to know is, can I create a custom function to load a Windows form, and access that form? display it? Or do I need to create another web form?

I guess I am a bit messed up about the Framework concept, does Winforms interact with that, or is using the Framework, strictly for Web Sites and pages?

Thanks,
Magoo.

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Hi Magoo,

One thing to keep in mind when working with any web-based application is that at the end of the day, you’re dealing with HTML. The rules of HTML are dramatically different from those of any Windows-based application (including VBA). About the only similarities you’ll find is that there are fields (textboxes, dropdowns, checkboxes, etc) and events but otherwise they are two totally different animals.

In order to “convert” your Excel/VBA application into a web-based .NET application you’ll need to determine the desired functionality and requirements. Then, research to determine exactly how to implement each of those in the web environment – realizing that you will undoubtedly have to compromise somewhat in order to make it work within the context of the web.

For instance, there is no equivalent VBA Message Box in web applications. There are several very simple Javascript messageboxes (alert, confirm, input) but they do not offer the icon or button options that you get in VBA. And you will not be able to load a Windows form inside a web page – any desired forms will need to be converted into web forms.

Finally, you’ll want to read up on state management and the different approach that’s required by web applications. In windows apps, you can simply place a variable in memory until it’s needed. In a web application, you have to use a totaly different approach – using Session, ViewState, or some other sort of persistence.

Probably the best thing you could do at this point is to purchase a book on using ASP.NET. That will make it easier to understand some of these issues I’ve mentioned above. Please feel free to post back with any specific questions.

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Thank you Mark.

I heading out to buy that ASP.Net book:)

Magoo

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