To view and work with an interactive spreadsheet in the browser, users must have the Microsoft Office Web Components installed. They can do this by installing Microsoft Office XP or, if their company has an Office XP site license, by downloading the Office Web Components from their intranet. Users must also use Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.01 or later.

You can create and modify spreadsheets in several programs. You can create the spreadsheet in one program, and later use a different program to modify the spreadsheet or the Web page that it's on.

The choice of which design program you use depends on the amount of design or administrative work you want to do on the Web page itself, the type of data you want to use, and your own familiarity with different design programs.

Microsoft Excel   If you want to try different formulas, adjust references, import data from other sources, or design an interactive chart to reflect the data in your spreadsheet, Excel is an excellent design environment to use to create spreadsheets.

You can format the spreadsheet and make adjustments to its size and appearance in another design program. If any of your users have Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.01, be sure to use Microsoft FrontPage to modify spreadsheets that were published from Excel. Excel publishes spreadsheets to Web pages with full support for Internet Explorer 4.01 and later, and FrontPage maintains this support. If you modify a Web page that was published from Excel by using data access page Design view in Microsoft Access, however, users might need to install Internet Explorer 5 or later before they can use your Web page. Excel is available in Microsoft Office XP.

Microsoft FrontPage   If you want to create a Web page or modify spreadsheets published from Excel, FrontPage is the recommended design program. You can create spreadsheets on Web pages in FrontPage in addition to modifying spreadsheets that were designed in other programs. Use the extensive Web page editing and administrative features of FrontPage to add controls, graphics, themes, and more to your Web page, and then make the page part of your Web site. FrontPage is available in Microsoft Office XP.

Microsoft Access   If you want to create Web pages that operate on and display data from databases, and your users have Internet Explorer 5 or later, use data access page Design view in Access to create spreadsheets. You can use Access to establish a connection from an Access database to the Web page, and then you can use formulas in the spreadsheet to return values from the database to the spreadsheet. Access is available in Microsoft Office XP.

Microsoft Visual Basic   If you need a more comprehensive programming environment than the scripting capabilities provided by Excel, FrontPage, and Access, you can design spreadsheets in Visual Basic. Use Visual Basic when you want to include a spreadsheet or calculation engine in a custom solution. Users can view and interact with spreadsheets on the Visual Basic forms in your programs. Instead of a browser, your form becomes the run-time environment, and your program can automate many spreadsheet or calculation features.

To create a spreadsheet, follow the instructions in your design program to place a spreadsheet on your Web page. Then, you can enter data and formulas on the spreadsheet, or import data to use on the spreadsheet. To create a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel, see Help for saving or publishing worksheets in Excel.

Use the spreadsheet toolbar and Commands and Options dialog box   After you have created a spreadsheet, you can change formatting and display options, set the size of the spreadsheet, protect cells, and more by using the Commands and Options dialog box and the spreadsheet toolbar.

Restrict access in the browser   Even in a browser that fully supports spreadsheets, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, users do not have access to some of the commands and features that you can use in a design program. To prevent users from making changes to data or formulas in the spreadsheet, you can set further restrictions.

Provide instructions   You can add descriptive text, instructions, or other information about the spreadsheet by typing the text in a visible place on the spreadsheet or on the Web page.

Include a chart   You can also display a chart of your spreadsheet data on your Web page. When a user in the browser changes the data displayed in the spreadsheet, the chart is automatically updated. For example, if your spreadsheet contains an amortization table that uses formulas to calculate mortgage payments, you can include an interactive chart on the Web page to show how principal and interest payments compare over time. If the user changes the interest rate or down-payment figures used in the formula, the spreadsheet formulas update the information, and the chart updates to reflect the latest figures.

Automate   Many of the features and capabilities of a spreadsheet can be accessed and controlled with scripts. If you are familiar with writing scripts for Web pages in a language such as Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) or JavaScript, you can add scripts to the spreadsheet to do things such as getting values from a database and calculating information in the background.

Microsoft Office programs provide the Microsoft Script Editor for creating and modifying scripts. For information about writing scripts, see Help in your design program.

Check the spreadsheet in the browser   Before making the spreadsheet available to your users, you should test it in the browser. If your users have different browser versions, you might want to test the spreadsheet in each version to make sure it displays and updates the information properly.

Make changes   If you're not satisfied with the spreadsheet and the Web page, you can go back into the design program and make changes. For example, if you published the spreadsheet from Microsoft Excel, you can open the Web page with the spreadsheet in Microsoft FrontPage to make changes.

Publish the Web page   When you are satisfied with the results, make your Web page available to your users. See Help for your design program for information about publishing Web pages, or consult your Webmaster.