Category Archives: ExcelWriter

ExcelWriter, Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter, WordWriter

Install Error 1316 – A network error occurred when attempting to read from the file

Problem

When running the OfficeWriter installer to upgrade to OfficeWriter 4.x or below from an earlier version of OfficeWriter the following error may occur:

Error 1316 – A network error occurred when attempting to read from the file C:\WINNT\Downloaded Installations{EBF98E9A-3A6C-4B10-AB6B-3D9A746A5C35}\SoftArtisans OfficeWriter [version number].msi

Solution

It is not possible to install OfficeWriter 4.x or earlier over a previous version with the automatic installer. The previous version must be uninstalled first. This is a known issue with InstallShield, the component used in the OfficeWriter installer.

Note: This only applies to installers for OfficeWriter 4.x and below. Starting in OfficeWriter 8.0, the installer no longer uses InstallShield so the issue no longer applies. However, you should uninstall the previous version of OfficeWriter before installing OfficeWriter 8.x to ensure clean upgrades.

Instructions for removing older versions of OfficeWriter can be found in our documentation:

ExcelWriter, Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter, WordWriter

Install Error: 1603 Fatal error during installation

Problem

Installing OfficeWriter 3.9.1 may fail on Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008. The installer appears to proceed normally, but eventually rolls back and displays the following error message:

Error: -1603 Fatal error during installation. Consult Windows Installer Help (Msi.chm) or MSDN for more information.

The installation failure is due to a problem in InstallShield, a software tool used to build the OfficeWriter installer. The problem occurs in an InstallShield method that interfaces with IIS 7, which comes with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. OfficeWriter installer for versions 4.6.0 and earlier attempt to interface with IIS to create a new website for sample applications during installation. Because of the InstallShield problem on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, the installer fails and subsequently rolls back.

Solution

Option 1: Upgrade to OfficeWriter 3.9.2 or later

Upgrade to a newer version of OfficeWriter. Subsequent to the 3.9.1 release, the OfficeWriter installer is built with a patched version of InstallShield which fixes the problem described above. We recommend that, whenever possible, customers upgrade to the newest release of OfficeWriter to take advantage of the latest bug fixes and new features.

Option 2: Install OfficeWriter 3.9.1 without the samples

Install OfficeWriter 3.9.1 without the samples. Because the error occurs when the installer attempts to create a new website for the samples, not installing the samples would allow the installer to succeed. On the Setup Wizard dialog box which allows selection of the features to install, deselect the “OfficeWriter Samples” option.

ExcelWriter, Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter, Reporting Services, WordWriter

Designer Install Error: This software requires Excel 97 and/or Word 97 (or higher)

Problem

The installer for the OfficeWriter Designer v8.0 and below throws the following error:

This software requires Excel 97 and/or Word 97 (or higher), with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and MSQuery installed. This system does not appear to have Excel or Word installed. Please install Office before continuing.

Solution

Office 2010 is installed

The OfficeWriter Designer v8.0 and below is not supported in Office 2010. Please install v8.1.1 or higher for Office 2010.

No Office is installed

The OfficeWriter Designer is an Office Add-In and requires a version of Office to be installed to use.

ExcelWriter, Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter

ExcelWriter Error: This file does not appear to be a valid Excel 97 or later binary file

Problem

When trying to open an XLSX or XLSM file with ExcelApplication, you get the following error message:

This file does not appear to be a valid Excel 97 or later binary file. Please try opening in Excel 97 later by saving as “Microsoft Excel Workbook (*.xls)”

Solution

Support for the Office 2007/2010 file formats (XLSX, XLSM) was introduced for ExcelApplication in ExcelWriter 8. Earlier versions with throw the above exception when attempting to open an XLSX file with ExcelApplication.

Sign in to download product updates. Make sure to follow the instructions for installing a new version of the product.

ExcelWriter, Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter

Shapes and PivotCharts stretch when placed next to a PivotTable

Problem

If a pivotchart or drawing shape is placed next to a pivottable, it stretched over many rows in the output file. Also, if a pivotchart or drawing shape is placed beneath a pivottable, it gets pushed down the worksheet.

Solution

The issue of shape behavior was addressed in OfficeWriter 4.6.0. Download the latest version of OfficeWriter.

ExcelWriter, Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter

ExcelWriter leaves empty space for a chart title

Problem

When using ExcelApplication to create or modify charts, there appears to be an empty space for the chart title even though one wasn’t specified or the chart title is set to an empty string.

Solution

ExcelWriter will leave space for a chart title if any of the Chart.Title properties are set; this includes setting Chart.Title.Text to an empty string. This is because ExcelWriter assumes that if Chart.Title properties are being set, then there will be a chart title.

This mimics Excel’s behavior, as chart title properties cannot be accessed or modified unless there is a non-empty chart title.

To avoid having extra space for the title, only set Chart.Title properties when Chart.Title.Text is set to a non-empty value (i.e. you intend for the chart to have a title).

ExcelWriter, Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter

Exception: ‘[character]’, hexidecimal value 0x[value], is an invalid character

Problem

When running an Excel report rendered by ExcelWriter’s ExcelTemplate object, the report will throw the following eception if the data set contains certain special characters:

Unhandled Exception: SoftArtisans.OfficeWriter.ExcelWriter.SAException: ‘[character], hexadecimal value 0x[value], is an invalid character. at SoftArtisans.OfficeWriter.ExcelWriter.ExcelTemplate.Process()

This exception occurs if:

  • Data is imported into an Excel file using ExcelWriter
  • Files are .XLSX (Office 2007) or .XLSM (Office 2007 with macros enabled)
  • Data set contains a character that is not valid in XML

Note: Support for OOXML files was introduced in OfficeWriter 4.0, so this issue only occurs in OfficeWriter 4.0-4.6.0 (ExcleWriter 7.0 – 7.6.0).

Solution

Option 1: Upgrade to OfficeWriter 4.6.1 or later (recommended)

This issue was addressed in OfficeWriter 4.6.1 (ExcelWriter 7.6.1). As of version 7.6.1, ExelWriter correctly preserves characters that are not valid in XML, so they will appear in output.

Product updates for OfficeWriter can be downloaded at www.officewriter.com/product-updates.

Note: Make sure to uninstall the old version of OfficeWriter before installing a new version.

If you are experiencing this issue with OfficeWriter for SQL Server Reporting Services and need to upgrade the server-side installation of OfficeWriter, we generally recommend upgrading the client-side installation of the OfficeWriter Designer as well.

Option 2: Scrub data of invalid XML characters

There are certain ranges of characters that are not valid XML. The XML specification has defined which ranges of characters are supported in XML files. These files cannot be written into XML files, which includes the OOXML file formats. Excel handles the special characters by encoding them before they are written to file.

Since ExcelWriter 7.0-7.6.0 does not handle these characters properly, the other solution is to remove any characters that are not valid XML, if the characters don’t need to be preserved.

ExcelWriter, Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter

ExcelWriter Error: Items in the array exceed 256 characters

Problem

When you specify List data validation in Excel with a sequence of comma-separated values, Excel prevents you from entering more than 255 characters, including commas. Analogously, when you create List data validation in ExcelWriter with an array of values, the CreateDataValidation method throws the exception: Items in the array exceed 256 characters, if the combined length of all of the elements in the array is longer than 255 characters. The limit is actually 255 rather than 256 as stated in the exception message. In practice, the actual limit would be lower if there are multiple elements in the array, as ExcelWriter has to insert tokens to demarcate individual values.

Solution

In order to prevent the exception, you can specify the list as a formula pointing to a range containing the desired values rather than as an array. This approach parallels Excel’s second way to create List data validation. If it’s desirable to hide the validation values, you can place the range on a non-visible area of the worksheet, or on a separate hidden worksheet.

 // Create validation object based on desired cell range 
DataValidation dv = workbook.CreateDataValidation(DataValidation.ValidationType.List, "=Sheet1!A1:A4"); 

// Alternatively, use an existing named range 
DataValidation dv2 = workbook.CreateDataValidation(DataValidation.ValidationType.List, "=ValidationRange"); 

// Set cell B1 to use validation 
worksheet.Cells["B1"].DataValidation = dv;

For more information about creating data validations, please refer to our documentation

ExcelWriter, Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter, WordWriter

Data not imported when using a recordset for a data source

Problem

When using a recordset as a datasource with the ExcelWriter template object, the cells are not populated with data. This typically happens when the recordset is at EOF due to manipulation in the script. When the template object’s .Process() method is called, the data binding occurs.

Solution

Before calling .Process(), you should move to the first record in the recordset with this command:

 oRS.MoveFirst()

That way, the recordset will be passed properly to the object.