[Rd] xlsReadWrite Pro and embedding objects and files in Excel worksheets

[Gabor Grothendieck]

I meant that the machine has Excel on it.  Excel does not have to be running
prior to running the R code as the R code will start up and shut
down Excel itself.

On 2/8/07, Gabor Grothendieck <ggrothendieck at gmail.com> wrote:
> Its not entirely clear to me what it is that you are looking
> for.  Maybe you want to create an Excel spreadsheet with a hyperlink
> to a web page?  This R code will do that.  It requires a Windows machine that
> has Excel running on it.
>
>
> library(RDCOMClient)
> xl <- COMCreate("Excel.Application")
> xl[["Visible"]] <- TRUE
> wkbk <- xl$Workbooks()$Add()
>
> sh <- xl$ActiveSheet()
>
> B2R <- sh$Range("B3")
> B2R[["Formula"]] <- '=HYPERLINK("http://www.r-project.org")'
>
> wkbk$SaveAs("\\test-url.xls")
> xl$Quit()
>
>
>
>
> On 2/8/07, Mark W Kimpel <mwkimpel at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hans-Peter and other R developers,
> >
> > How are you? Have you made any progess with embedding Url's in Excel?
> >
> > Well, I have been busy thinking of more things for you to do;)
> >
> > My colleagues in the lab are not R literate, and some are barely
> > computer literate, so I give them everything in Excel workbooks. I have
> > gradually evolved a system such that these workbooks have become
> > compendia of my data, output, and methods. That, in fact, is why I
> > bought the Pro version of xlsReadWritePro. I have been saving graphics
> > as PDF files, then inserting them as object in Excel sheets.
> >
> > What I would like to be able to do is to embed objects (files) in sheets
> > of a workbook directly from within R. I would also like to be able to
> > save my current R workspace as an object embedded in a sheet so that in
> > the future, if packages change, I could go back and recreate the
> > analysis. I do not need to be able to manuipulate files that R has not
> > created, like a PDF file from another user. I would, however, like to be
> > able to save my graphics as PDF files inside a worksheet, even if it
> > meant creating a  temp file or something.
> >
> > Before people begin talking about how MySQL or some other database could
> > handle all that archiving, let me say that that is not what my
> > colleagues want. They want a nice Excel file that they can take home on
> > there laptops. One thing I like about worksheets is that they themselves
> > can contain many embedded files, so it keeps our virtual desks neater
> > and less confusing.
> >
> > Hans, if you could do this, it would be of tremendous benefit to me and
> > hopefully a lot of people. R developers tend to think that all
> > scientists are running Linux on 64-bit computers, but most biomedical
> > researches still store date in Excel files. This won't solve everybody's
> > needs, but it could be a start.
> >
> > Well, let me know what you think. I am cc'ing R-devel to see if any of
> > those guys have ideas as well.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Mark
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Mark W. Kimpel MD
> > Neuroinformatics
> > Department of Psychiatry
> > Indiana University School of Medicine
> >
> > ______________________________________________
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> > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
> >
>