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What is HotCell Technology?

ExcelWriter's HotCell Technology provides the ability to dynamically retrieve or update data on a Web server based on modifications made in an Excel file on a client. HotCell Technology uses Excel VBA code embedded in the spreadsheet on the client. The VBA code communicates with an application on a remote Web server. The VBA code is activated when the user modifies a cell's value. A "HotCell" is a cell in the client-side spreadsheet that is modified by the user.

There are two different upload methods that you can use to submit the changed cell data back to the server:

Upload the entire workbook to the server

This method uploads the entire edited workbook back to the server. When you issue the command to update the data source, OfficeWriter Assistant (included in OWAssis.cab) uploads the entire workbook back to the server along with information about which cells have changed. On the server, ExcelWriter opens the uploaded workbook, reads the values of the changed cells, and updates the data source. For more information about OfficeWriter Assistant, see the OfficeWriter Assistant documentation.
POST changed-cell instructions to the server

This method submits cell information in an HTTP POST request. On the server, the receiving page parses the information and updates the data source. This solution is far less network-intensive because it just posts bits of information instead of the entire workbook. However, the POST method is more complicated than the upload method and requires more code on both the client and server.

HotCell Samples

HotCell Web Form Sample (C#)
Hot Cell Web Form Sample (VB.NET)
This sample downloads a workbook of employee information populated by ExcelTemplate. From within Excel, you can edit employee address information and update the server-side database.
HotCell Drill Down Sample (C#)
HotCell Drill Down Sample (VB.NET)
This is a "Drill Down" report that allows you to drill through several layers of relational data. The application starts on a list of customers from the AdventureWorks2000 database. Select a customer to "drill down" and see a list of all orders made for that customer. Select an order to see the order details for that particular order.