CSV files & templates

Question

I have what should be a simple problem, but I'm stuck.

I have an app that generates a CSV file every day. I'd like my customers to be able to double-click on that CSV and have it open in Excel, with a particular template. That is to say, I'd like to give my customers an Excel template with the correct formating, and even a few other nifty things (e.g. some charts, some formulas, etc.)

My first idea is that this could be done either after the file is open (by clicking a "Format As XYZ Report" button"), but I can't see any way of telling Excel to take the current worksheet and apply a template.

The other idea I had was to do this at open time, by supplying a template on the command line of a shortcut. Dragging and dropping the CSV on the shortcut should then apply the template. I tried creating a shortcut with the target "c:\program files\office\excel.exe /t c:\templates\mytemplate.xltx", but that did not work either.

I'm a bit stumped...

Any ideas?

Answer 1

Create an AddIn, use the Workbook_Open event and look if the current opened file is a CSV file. If so, release the CSV and load it into your template.

Andreas.