Records Needed to Make a BIFF5 File Microsoft Excel Can Use

ID: Q147732

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel Software Development Kit, version 5.0
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0

SUMMARY

This article documents which records are required in order to build a valid BIFF5 file that Microsoft Excel will recognize.

MORE INFORMATION

The records listed below must be included in order for Microsoft Excel to recognize the file as a valid BIFF5 file. Because BIFF5 files are OLE compound document files, these records must be written using OLE library functions. For information on how to output an OLE docfile, please see the OLE 2 Programmer's Reference Volume One.

Required Records

BOF - Set the 6 byte offset to 0x0005 (workbook globals)
Window1
FONT - At least five of these records must be included
XF - At least 15 Style XF records and 1 Cell XF record must be included
STYLE
BOUNDSHEET - Include one BOUNDSHEET record per worksheet
EOF
BOF - Set the 6 byte offset to 0x0010 (worksheet)
INDEX
DIMENSIONS
WINDOW2
EOF

For specific information on these records, please see Chapter 3 in the Microsoft Excel Developer's Kit Version 5.

In addition, the Microsoft Excel Developer's Kit Version 5 includes a utility called Biffview.exe, which you can use to view the records in a BIFF file. When you try to construct BIFF files programatically, you should first create the file in Microsoft Excel and then use BIFFVIEW to examine the output. This will allow you to compare the Microsoft Excel generated file with your own and should greatly aid in debugging.

REFERENCES

Microsoft Excel Developer's Kit version 5
OLE 2 Programmer's Reference Volume One

Additional query words: 5.00 7.00

Keywords : ExcelSDK
Version : :5.0; Win95:7.0
Platform : Win95
Issue type :