[kepler-dev] Embedding Excel Object on Ptolemy canvas

[Edward A. Lee]

Atul Gulati wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Is there some way of embedding Word, Excel application windows into
> the mainframe of the Ptolemy Canvas.We are using the Tool to create a
> report in Excel and would like to embed this onto the canvas.At
> present we need to open the Excel File seperately.
> 
> Regards,
> Atul.
> 

(I've cc'd Kepler developers, as they may have done some work in this
direction).

Coincidentally, just yesterday I created an Attribute that references
a PDF file and presents the PDF in a Vergil diagram.  This could be used
to give a static (non-interactive) view of a Word, Excel, or any other
document.  I haven't checked this into the tree yet because I'm waiting
for help from Christopher on handling the dependency on an external jar.

An interactive one would be more complicated.  If you can find a Swing
widget that provides a front end for Word or Excel (should be possible
through .Net infrastructure), then it would be possible to create a
custom top-level window with a pane containing Excel or Word.
Easier would be to integrate widgets from Open Office.

Getting the widget into a Vergil diagram should also be possible.
In theory, it is possible to embed any Swing widget into Vergil
windows.  We tried several years ago to provide a generic Attribute
that would support this, but the person who tried was unable to get
it to work.  It may be worth revisiting, since Swing has improved
considerably since then...

Any volunteers to tackle this?

Edward



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