How to Open Files with Xlviewer.exe in MS Internet Explorer

ID: Q165759

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

The Microsoft Excel Viewer for Windows 95 is a utility that is designed to make it easy for you to exchange Microsoft Excel documents with users who may not have Microsoft Excel installed on their computers. If you use the Microsoft Excel Viewer to open a Microsoft Excel file, you can view and print the file and use the AutoFilter feature.

If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer to open a Microsoft Excel file on the Internet, you can configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to use the Microsoft Excel Viewer to open the file. However, when you do this, functionality is limited.

This article explains how to configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to open a Microsoft Excel file with the Microsoft Excel Viewer and start Microsoft Excel when you double-click a Microsoft Excel file in Windows Explorer.


MORE INFORMATION

The following steps assume that the Microsoft Excel Viewer is installed on your computer. If you need to install the Microsoft Excel Viewer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q141224 : XL7: What Is the Microsoft Excel Viewer for Windows 95?

Specifying the Viewer as the Default Program

When you first install the Microsoft Excel Viewer, you are prompted to specify whether the Viewer or Microsoft Excel will be the default program for opening Microsoft Excel files. To specify the Viewer as the default program, use the following steps:

  1. In the folder in which you installed the Microsoft Excel Viewer, open the Setup folder, and then double-click the Microsoft Excel Viewer Setup file.


  2. In the first dialog box that appears, click Reinstall.


  3. In the next dialog box that appears, click Open With Viewer.

    This step sets the Viewer as the default program for opening Microsoft Excel files.


  4. After Setup is finished, click OK.


Configuring Microsoft Internet Explorer to Use the Viewer

  1. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer.


  2. On the View menu, click Options.


  3. Click the Programs tab and click File Types.


  4. In the Registered File Types list, click Microsoft Excel Worksheet, and then click Edit.


  5. In the Edit File Type dialog box, click Open in the Actions list, and then click Edit.


  6. For the Open action, set the following values:

    Application used to perform action: <path to viewer>\Xlview.exe
    Use DDE: checked
    DDE Message: [open("%1")]
    Application: Xlview
    DDE Application Not Running:
    Topic: system

    NOTE: Do not type a value for DDE Application Not Running.


  7. Click OK. In the Edit File Type dialog box, click New.


  8. In the Action box, type "OpenXL" (without the quotation marks).


  9. In the "Application used to perform action" box, type the following:

    c:\msoffice\excel\excel.exe /e

    NOTE: If you changed the default installation folder when you installed Microsoft Excel, type this path.


  10. Click Use DDE.


  11. In the DDE Message box, type the following:

    [open("%1")]


  12. In the Application box, type "excel" (without the quotation marks).


  13. Leave the DDE Application Not Running box empty, and then type "system" (without the quotation marks) in the Topic box.


  14. Click OK. In the Actions list, click OpenXL, and then click Set Default.

    This step ensures that Microsoft Excel is started when you double- click a Microsoft Excel file in Windows Explorer.


  15. Verify that the "Open web documents in place" check box is selected.


  16. Click Close, click Close again in the File Types dialog box, and then click OK in the Options dialog box.


Verifying That the Options You Selected Are Working

  1. In Windows Explorer, locate, and then double-click a Microsoft Excel file.

    Microsoft Excel is started and displays your file. The Microsoft Excel Viewer is not started.


  2. Close Microsoft Excel.


  3. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer.


  4. In the Address box, enter the full path to the file you double-clicked in Step 1.


  5. If you are prompted to Open or Save the file, click Open, and then click OK.


Your file is opened by the Microsoft Excel Viewer within Microsoft Internet Explorer.

NOTE: In step 4, you can also type a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to any Microsoft Excel file.

Additional query words: XL 


Keywords          : kbtool kbusage 
Version           : 5.0 5.0c 7.0 7.0a
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: April 25, 1999