Win32::OLE and CGI ?

[jwherbold]

I am trying to run a simple program to open an Excel file (work in placing data in it later) I can get it to run via the command line, but I need it to run through a browser, by that I mean, I need the user to run a script and it open the users Excel (not the servers). I try the basic code but I get the following error(s) on the browser:

Win32::OLE(0.1401) error 0x80080005: "Server execution failed" at D:\D
+WH_web\CGI_BIN2\testing\test_excel.pl line 7
Can't call method "Workbooks" on unblessed reference at D:\DWH_web\CGI
+_BIN2\testing\test_excel.pl line 11.

and the following on the server log (Win2K):

Detection of product '{00000409-78E1-11D2-B60F-006097C998E7}', feature
+ 'EXCELFiles', component '{CC29E96F-7BC2-11D1-A921-00A0C91E2AA2}' fai
+led 
Detection of product '{00000409-78E1-11D2-B60F-006097C998E7}', feature
+ 'EXCELFiles' failed during request for component '{CC29E96F-7BC2-11D
+1-A921-00A0C91E2AA2}' 
Failed to connect to server. Error: 0x80004001

Any help and/or ideas would be great, solutions would be better ;-)

Thanks in advance

John

[dws]

(Caveat: I don't yet have experience with IIS5.0, so this may be off target.)

I assume that you've already verified the obvious: Excel is installed on the server. A less obvious problem can be one of permission.

By default, IIS 4.0 on NT executes CGIs using a user context that does not have access to all facilities on the server. Instructions for changing that user context to one that does can be found here.

Try that, and see if you get any further.

[jwherbold]

Yes Excel is installed on the server, however my goal is to open up excel on the client. What I am trying to do, is use this in conjunction with DBI, and give the user the option to run a report, and bring the data back into Excel for the user.

I know that I could send back an excel file with another module, but I thought the OLE would be the way to go, and I could learn more this way... there I go thinking again ;-)

Thanks
John

[dws]

Ah. Then what you probably want to is use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel to generate the bits for an Excel file, then send those bits back down the wire to the client with a Content-type of "application/vmd.ms-excel".