XYplorer Beta Club

I would like to see Microsoft Office and Open Office/Star Office file viewing integration within XYplorer for previous and new Office 2007 file formats. I do not care for previewing via IE or launching of Office applications (I specifically want to avoid opening the native applications). This capability will determine my purchase of XYplorer and recommending this product over any others. Thank you.

I'm presuming you've read this thread:
http://www.xyplorer.com/xyfc/viewtopic.php?t=1680

There are some times when the current method can be a bit of a pain, but the trade-off in smaller appl size and less overhead may well be worth it, IMO.

I think there are enough advantages to XY even with this IE preview to make it a worthwhile purchase, but then again, I'm somewhat biased (having been using XY for 18+ months)

Hi msjunk,

Maybe you already know that the office apps (.doc, .ppt, .xls) open via XYplorer preview and you dont have to open the native apps for this. Thought I will let you know this since i use it regularly. I dont have the 2007 office so i cannot comment. Same with other apps.

serendipity wrote: Maybe you already know that the office apps (.doc, .ppt, .xls) open via XYplorer preview and you dont have to open the native apps for this.

I'll have to disagree here...sorry!
They do open via IE as a interface via XY as Don has stated, and that's why I wrote about the occasional PITA, as when I've previewed a XLS file via XY, and then need to open a XLS via Excel, I often end up with a worksheet called "Object" opened in Excel which I have to close and/or deal with...The other issues I have is Excel sometimes just won't open at same time, or the Excel task shows the XY screen, or XY says file is "currently in use by another app" when it's NOT...The only way I've found to avoid this is to make sure any XLS in XY is showing via the RAW View tab, or Properties.

In addition after using XY to preview a XLS, typically any worksheet I open in Excel ends up being sized at the "Info Panel" size so I have to maximize it first to work on it as I normally would.

Oh, I see. I mentioned this because i never had any such problems. Well, I once had the object problem in XLS, but only if the worksheet inside the excel app is not fully maximized. Once i made sure the sheets are fully maximized inside the app this object problem never occured again. I dont recall other problems you mentioned too. Sorry, but it works differently for me.

serendipity wrote:Oh, I see. I mentioned this because i never had any such problems. Well, I once had the object problem in XLS, but only if the worksheet inside the excel app is not fully maximized. Sorry, but it works differently for me.

BTW, when I do a preview of XLS in XY, if I check in Task Manager, it shows EXCEL.EXE as active...
I'm using Office 2000, if that makes any difference..
I'm constantly having the "Object" issue and/or IP sized sheet, so I now try to make sure that I avoid having any XLS file selected in XY when I need to work in Excel just to avoid these issues...

Update:Try this situation:
1) Have a XLS open directly in Excel with XY previewing a non-XLS file
2) In XY, preview another XLS file
3) When you select the Excel task on Taskbar, you won't be able to see the original XLS file, but instead the XY task is shown. In order to see the original XLS file, I have to move the XY preview to a non-XLS file.

This is just my oppinion, but replying on IE for ANYTHING is a bad idea. If we're to have previews, I think it would be better to create a proper previewer that can be controlled and that will be consistent across systems (and IE and Office versions).

I'm sure this isn't an easy or quick thing to do, but I do believe it is the right way to do it. The way it is at the moment I just don't use the preview because it feels very half finished to me and only supports a fraction of the file types I use.

@JC: i tried that and you are right, there are some issues here. But the differences are, the original XLS is seen but its in the background and only way for me see here is to minimize XY. Plus when XY is previewing XLS, the original instance of XLS (using excel app) doesnt respond to any editing. The differences are due to my office being 2003 i guess.

@Luke: Right, but the logic for IE and office files is because of both are MS related. Also, because most windows have IE installed by default. But as you said I am not sure if IE is the way for non-MS apps. i guess Don will have to think about it as more users demand previews for different apps.

But if you don't have MS Office then your ability to preview any MS Office file, be it .doc, .xls, etc. thru XY won't happen, even if you do have IE installed.

Unless I have something setup wrong?

John Bee wrote:But if you don't have MS Office then your ability to preview any MS Office file, be it .doc, .xls, etc. thru XY won't happen, even if you do have IE installed.

That's very true, of course. Or does anybody here think, that I'll take a weekend off to write a native Office viewer?

You're going to take a weekend off to write a native Office file viewer? Oh Don, you're too good to us

admin wrote:That's very true, of course. Or does anybody here think, that I'll take a weekend off to write a native Office viewer?

I wasn't complaining about it, this lack does not bother me as I rarely have the need to preview these documents.

John Bee wrote:

admin wrote:That's very true, of course. Or does anybody here think, that I'll take a weekend off to write a native Office viewer?

I wasn't complaining about it, this lack does not bother me as I rarely have the need to preview these documents.

Oh, I know. I did not mean you.

He meant me And he knows I don't "expect" this to be done - I was just expressing my oppinion, which Don is perfectly happy to ignore (as he should most of the time)