Update Website Tables

Excel spreadsheet update of HTML tables?

[Jon_King]

What is the best way a novice client can update tables on a website. I mean something like adjusting some values in an Excel spreadsheet and saving/uploading it to the host and the page will be updated on the next hit? Currently they supply me with the Excel files and I re-enter data into Dreamweaver and upload to the host. They want to do do it themselves using some simple means not by learning Dreamweaver or HTML coding.

[tedster]

Here's a down-and-dirty idea. Excel can save a spreadsheet as HTML. It ain't pretty, and it doesn't validate, but it does render.

If you need to surround it with pretty elements, use an iframe.

[Jon_King]

Yes, I wish it could be this easy... The tables I have to update are in the middle of a fairly complex page. So having the HTML chart by itself does not get it inserted into the page. Other ideas?

[tedster]

Where's my manners, Jon? Welcome to wmw.

Is there a reason you can't use an iframe?

[Jon_King]

Hmm... I see what you mean. Yes iframe could work. I still am wondering if a fully automated solution exists, so to make it basically fool proof for a novice data entry person.

[Purple Martin]

Hi Jon_King.

By "fully automated solution" I'm guessing you mean something like this scenario: The user clicks their cursor on the table cell in their browser, edits the value, maybe clicks a "save" or "submit" button, and hey presto the file on the web server has been updated.

Actually I remember hearing somewhere that MS Access webforms can do this if everyone's got Office 2000.

Other than this, it's not possible without a mega-huge form with a field in each table cell, and some pretty hefty server-side scripting both for dynamically generating the table/form and for processing the submitted edits. In other words, there's no practical fully automated solution that I know of.

[Jon_King]

Tedster,

Thanks for your help.

-Jon

[dcheney]

It should be possible to write an Excel macro that takes the entered data and produces the proper html for it. From there its just a matter of using some mechanism (batch file perhaps) to merge the rest of the page and the new data's html.