Microsoft KB Archive/91624

= Microsoft Knowledge Base =

Excel: Version 4.0 SDK Overview
Last reviewed: September 23, 1997

Article ID: Q91624

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Excel Software Development Kit, version 4.0
 * Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 4.0
 * Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, version 4.0

What the Microsoft Excel 4.0 Software Development Kit Contains
The Microsoft Excel 4.0 Software Development Kit (Excel SDK) is a combination of development tools and documentation for professional developers, such as C/C++ programmers, who want to integrate their applications with version 4.0 of Microsoft Excel for Windows or Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh.

What the Microsoft Excel SDK Does NOT Contain
The Microsoft Excel SDK does not contain any information about Microsoft Excel macros. If developers want to learn about Microsoft Excel macros, there is a tutorial published by Microsoft Press called &quot;Microsoft Excel Macros Step by Step,&quot; available in bookstores or directly from Microsoft Press by calling (800) MSPRESS. The suggested retail price for this product is $34.95. &quot;Microsoft Excel Macros Step by Step,&quot; covers information on version 4.0 of Microsoft Excel for Windows and Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh.

Who Should Buy the Microsoft Excel SDK?
The Microsoft Excel SDK is beneficial to:


 * Developers who want to extend Excel macro applications or control Excel with Windows dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) or Macintosh code resources.
 * Developers who want to read/write Excel file formats.
 * Macintosh developers who want to control Excel with Apple Events.

Note: There is also a small amount of appendix information for developers interested in dynamic data exchange (DDE) with Excel, Excel startup files (EXCEL4.INI), and integrating Windows and Macintosh custom Help with Excel.

How Do I Buy the Excel SDK?
The &quot;Microsoft Excel Software Development Kit, Version 4.0,&quot; published by Microsoft Press, became available November 1, 1992. It contains 3.5-inch disks and covers both version 4.0 of Microsoft Excel for Windows and version 4.0 of Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh. The suggested retail price is $49.95 in the United States. It can be ordered in the U.S. by calling (800) MSPRESS, and is also available in computer bookstores.

In Canada, the Excel SDK is published by MacMillan. Outside the U.S. and Canada, the Excel SDK is published by Penguin. Customers outside the U.S. should contact their Microsoft subsidiary office for more information on how to obtain the Excel SDK. To locate your subsidiary, see the Microsoft World Wide Offices Web site at:

http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/default.htm

Details on the Contents of the Excel SDK
The Excel Application Programming Interface ---

The most important part of the Excel SDK is the documentation, tools, and sample files for using the new Excel application programming interface (API), which is built into version 4.0 of  Microsoft Excel.

The Excel API allows developers to interact with or control Excel from a Windows DLL or Macintosh code resource. The Excel worksheet and macro sheet functions are exposed so that developers can call them from a C/C++ program--anything you can do from an Excel macro, you can now do from C. Excel versions 2.x and later can call DLLs or code resources from an Excel macro. A new feature of Excel 4.0 is that the DLL or code resource can now call Excel.

The two main reasons to use the Excel API are:

- High-performance interaction with Excel: Solver is an example of    how the Excel API provides high-performance interaction with Excel. In Excel 3.0, Solver is a separate program, SOLVER.EXE, that does dynamic data exchange (DDE) with Excel when performing iterations. In Excel 4.0, the Excel API is used instead, making general interaction with Excel about 3-5 times faster than it is     with DDE.

- Power beyond the macro language. In the Excel 4.0 box, we used the Excel API to develop both Solver and the Crosstab ReportWizard: the Crosstab ReportWizard is an example of how the Excel API provides power beyond the Excel macro language. The Crosstab ReportWizard calls Windows or Macintosh functions to    create its highly visual interface (such as partial dialog box     redraw).

Even though the Excel API technology is built right into the Microsoft Excel 4.0 program, you'll certainly need the Excel SDK to  understand how to make it work. There is a source code header file that defines names for all the Excel functions you can call, source code examples, and a framework library to help you manage passing various data types to Excel.

Although in theory you could control Excel from any language tool that you can use to create a DLL or code resource, such as Pascal or FORTRAN, the Excel SDK supports only the C language with its template and examples.

Excel File Formats (Binary Interchange File Format) ---

In the Excel SDK, we've documented the native file format used by  Excel, called Binary Interchange File Format (BIFF). This file format is useful for developers who want to write programs that share worksheet or chart files with Excel.

The Excel SDK documents worksheet, chart, and workbook file formats for versions 2.x, 3.x, and 4.0 of Microsoft Excel. Also included on  the PC floppy disk is a DUMBIFF.EXE utility program for displaying worksheet records and C source code examples that show some simple cases of reading BIFF.

Apple Events Reference --

The Excel SDK publishes a complete list of Apple Events recognized by Microsoft Excel 4.0 for the Macintosh. This information is  primarily for commercial Macintosh software vendors who want to   write programs that interact with Excel.

Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) with Excel --

The Excel SDK contains a short appendix describing DDE interaction with Microsoft Excel for Windows, including a specification of the fast table (Xltable) DDE format.

Excel Startup Files ---

The Excel SDK contains an appendix describing all the settings used in the EXCEL4.INI file.

Custom Help --- The Excel SDK contains an appendix describing how to call a Windows Help file from an Excel macro and how Excel 4.0 for the Macintosh contains a Windows 3.0 compatible Help engine.

For additional information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q91626 TITLE    : Excel: Version 4.0 SDK Instructions for Installation