Direct Link to a new Google Spreadsheet

One of the advantages to having web-based documents is that you can open them from any desktop in multiple browsers.  

I use Google Apps for my online office suite, but find that Zoho is a strong competitor for many reasons. One thing I like about Zoho is that they publish a URL that allows you to open a 'scratch' worksheet.  Zoho does not require an account for this spreadsheet.  If you have a Zoho account, you have the option of saving it when done. Otherwise, you can quickly do spreadsheet calculations, export it, save it, or close it when you are done.

But what about Google Apps? Do they publish a similar URL?  It turns out they do, but it is hidden.   After trial and error (and watching my browser carefully), I was able to come up with the URL for a new Google Apps spreadsheet. (Note: This URL requires a Google Apps account - which is free.)

The URL is as follows:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/a/[Google Apps Url]/ccc?new&hl=en

Where [Google Apps URL] is the URL to your Google Apps.  Just post it on your iGoogle bookmarks widget and you can start launching new spreadsheets right from your homepage.

MSOXMLED & Office Documents

I recently deployed an email application that mailed out Excel files in XML from an ASP.Net server to all clients that had trades for the day. One issue we found was that some of the internal people had trouble opening the file directly, while others did not.

This issue was traced to the 'Open' verb and a bad file setting. In essence, Windows does not know how to open Excel XML unless the File Type Setting is correct. Below are the instructions for correcting the issue.

1. Open the File Settings from any folder by opening an Explorer window and choosing Tools > Folder Options > File Types (tab).
2. Navigate to the XML Document type. Click on the 'Advanced' button.
3. Highlight the 'open' entry in the Actions box and click Edit.
4. The box should have the following settings:

File Types Settings

Action: open Application used to perform action: "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE11\MSOXMLED.EXE" /verb open "%1" Use DDE: (checked) DDE Message: <blank> Application: MSOXMLED DDE Application Not Running: <blank> Topic: System Click 'Ok'.

 

I also have the 'Confirm open after download' option checked on the file type screen, but am not sure if this makes a difference or not.

Following these instructions should get you back to opening Office XML.