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Scripting Word doc from external app

I'm trying to automate a tedious process that currently involves launching Word, Creating a new document from a .dot, saving it, running one or two plug-ins that were written in C# using VSTO, saving it again, exiting the document, and exiting Word.
I want to write a C# commandline app that the user can launch with one or two args (conveying all the information that would normally require interaction with dialogs in Word), then walk away from as it runs without further interaction... suppressing any and all focus-stealing by Word while it's running if necessary and possible.
Is there some straightforward way to accomplish this? Here's a Java-like pseudocode example of what I have in mind:
// magic to non-interactively launch Word and expose it as an object
WordHost word = xx;
// create new Word document based on a specific template that isn't the default one.
WordDocument doc = MSWord.create("z:\path\to\arbitraryTemplate.dot");
// If we can avoid physically saving it at this point and just assign a concrete
// file path, it would be even better because the network is glacially slow.
doc.saveAs("z:\path\to\newDoc.docx");
// someZeroArgPlugin and aTwoArgPlugin are VSTO plugins written with C#
doc.someZeroArgPlugin();
doc.aTwoArgPlugin("first", "second");
// done!
doc.save();
doc=null;
word=null; // something like word.unload() first?
// now do more things that don't involve Word directly...
Assuming I'm on the right track...
I'm pretty sure I can find most of what I need to know by searching... once I figure out what I need to be searching for. What should I be searching for?
What kind of project do I want to be creating in Visual Studio? A .net 4.5 C# console application? A Word 2010 Add-In? Some other kind of project?
Details that might or might not make a difference:
my program will only be run on computers that have Word 2010 installed. Compatibility with older versions isn't necessary.
It would be nice if it can run under Vista, but it only has to work under Win7.
I have Visual Studio Ultimate 2012

Here's what you'll need to do:
Have Visual Studio and Office installed.
Create a C# console project using the .NET framework of your choice (recommend 4.0 or above).
Add a reference to the Word COM library (Project menu => Add Reference, COM tab, Microsoft Word XX.0 Object library -- Word 2010 is 14.0).
Set the Embed Interop Types setting to false for the references added above
Expand References in Solution Explorer
Select Microsoft.Office.Core, Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word and VBIDE
Right-click and select Properties to bring up the Properties panel for the references.
In the Properties panel, set Embed Interop Types to False
Code away.
Here's some sample code.
using System;
using Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word;
namespace CSharpConsole
{
static class Program
{
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
var application = new ApplicationClass();
var document = application.Documents.Add();
document.SaveAs("D:\test.docx");
application.Quit();
}
}
}
For more information, see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ff601860(v=office.14).aspx

Multilanguage application in C#

I am currently building an application in C# which supports French, English and Spanish. I am using resource files (.resx) to store my text following this method I found online. Right now, the resource files I have are the following : TextLabels.resx, TextLabels.en.resx, TextLabels.fr.resx and TextLabels.es.resx.
I use the following method to link my the resource to my form :
manager = new ResourceManager("MyProject.TextLabels", typeof(MyForm).Assembly);
to change the labels when I have selected a new language, I created a refresh method changes the Text attributes of my containers with the method :
Text = manager.GetString("MY_STRING_VARIABLE", culture);
Also, I make sure to change the culture used when the user clicks on the desired using the following method :
culture = CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("es"); //changes the culture to spanish
So here is my problem : I use a 64 bit Windows 7 computer installed in English (I am not sure if it matters) and this method works fine, all my labels are changed in the desired language. The problem occurs when I try use my project on my colleague's computer which is a Windows 7 32 bits computer in French. Using his computer, it looks as if the program (that I have compiled with Visual Studio 2012) can only find the default resource file (TextLabels.resx). So I am at a loss here and wondering 1. Is the 32 bit system or French installation of Windows the reason of my problem or is it something else and how can I make my application work on his machine?

If you are generating localized binaries, be sure that they get deployed with the app.
They would be in the /bin/Debug and /bin/Release folders.

Why would the Excel Interop remove an image after processing a file?

Excel Interop is removing images from processed files.
I’m using the Excel Interop, no third-party components are present (that I'm aware of).
The workflow is -- create a copy (target) of a file (template), populate cells, change radio-button state
Create copy (target) of a pre-existing .xslm file (template)
Open target via Excel Interop
Populate target cells, change radio-button state
The worksheet with an image is not modified
Close target
On my dev machine, the target file looks great -- everything is populated, the image is present. NB: on my dev machine, I'm running the code from the VS2010 IDE.
On the production machine -- everything is populated, but the image is not present.
Instead, the following error appears in its place:
NB: on the production machine, it's running as a service, with the Local Service account.
"The image part with relationship ID rId1 was not found in the file"
The entire workbook is opened via the following code:
var workbook = workbooks.Open(targetPath
0, false, 5, Type.Missing, Type.Missing, false, XlPlatform.xlWindows, "",
true, false, 0, true, false, false);
Please note that the worksheet with the image is not manipulated in the code.
The worksbooks (and individual worksheets) are protected. However, the protected template is processed correctly in dev, but not in production. I don't think the protection has anything to do with it (but who knows, right? This is Interop. ugh).
The file was created by another party, and all components (ie, the image) reside within the .xslm structure, not as links to another server.
I have verified that the image is visible on the production machine in the template file, but not in a processed file.
To confirm that this was not an issue in opening the file within the production, I emailed myself a copy, and the image continued to be not present.
I have also confirmed that, on my development machine, processed files do have a visible image.
I unprotected the worksheet, and unzipped the file structure. The .jpg file is indeed not present in the processed target from the production machine.
One more note -- Office 2010 is installed on my development machine, but Office 2007 on the production machine. As a result, I'm using the Office 12 Interop. No runtime errors are generated in either environment.
I am using the Interop (instead of an OpenXml library) because there are ActiveX controls present that must be populated. Note however, that none of the ActiveX controls have any issues -- they are working fine. It's just image-files that are vanishing from processed files (they render fine in the template file).
UPDATE NOTE: There are four other image-files, all .emf on a different worksheet; they are all stripped as well.

As explained in comments (and eventually in an edit to the question), the code was running in production as a service, with the Local Service account.
I am now unsure why I picked this account -- something I found in passing during my research on getting the Interop to run correctly as a service?
However, once I switched from the Local Service account to the Local System account (and checked "Allow service to interact with desktop") it worked. Automagically.
services.msc
select the service
right-click, select "Properties"
select the "Log On" tab
select "Local System account" and check "Allow service to interact with desktop"
"Allow service to interact with desktop" might not be required; Other notes on automating the Interop suggest that other desktop settings are required, however I did an install where those pre-requisites were set but THIS value unchecked; app still worked...

Interop is not supported in sever-scenarios by MS.
There are many options to read/edit/create Excel files without Interop:
MS provides the free OpenXML SDK V 2.0 - see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb448854%28office.14%29.aspx (XLSX only)
This can read+write MS Office files (including Excel).
Another free option see http://www.codeproject.com/KB/office/OpenXML.aspx (XLSX only)
IF you need more like handling older Excel versions (like XLS, not only XLSX), rendering, creating PDFs, formulas etc. then there are different free and commercial libraries like ClosedXML (free, XLSX only), EPPlus (free, XLSX only), Aspose.Cells, SpreadsheetGear, LibXL and Flexcel etc.
It is hard to say whether your specific case (ActiveX controls) is fully supported by any of the above... that is something you need to test...
Even if the ActiveX controls are supported by any of the libraries there is a chance that the ActiveX controls themselves don't work within a Windows Service (permissions etc.).
EDIT - as per comment:
I understand the ActiveX problem and I addressed it from 2 points:
Have you really tested all above mentioned libraries ?
Have you checked with the implementor(s) of the ActiveX controls whether the ActiveX controls could even theoretically work in a Windows Service scenario ?
EDIT 3 - after the UPDATE from the OP:
.emf is a vector file format... IIRC GDI+ is used to render it on current Windows versions... .emf has evolved a bit over time so older OS and/or Office versions can sometimes have problems rendering newer .emf files... which in turn means the problem is the "missing desktop" in the Windows Service AND/OR that your .emf files are "too new" for the production machine.

(a) Not supported, don't do it https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/257757
(b) Anyway, if you have to do it (and cannot give desktop access to your process, as suggested in the accepted answer), you can mess with the contents and permissions in C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile, as suggested by this answer.
I had to create and allow permissions to the Desktop and to the INetCache folders. Checking (and solving) failed access attempts in paths beginning with C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile with the help of Process Monitor was what got me out of the annoying problem and pointed out at INetCache permissions as the reason of the failed insertion of images.
You just have to add permisions to C:\Windows\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache or C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache(depends on your system version) folder and images will shown

You're probably on your own, since Excel isn't supported in a server environment as #Yahia correctly points out.
Your mention of ActiveX controls is a red flag - maybe some of your ActiveX controls require Excel to run under an account with a profile?
All you can do is debug this yourself, probably best to proceed by eliminating the possible sources of different behaviour in your dev and production environments.
Try using the same Office version in both environments
Are you using Cassini in your dev environment? (i.e. running under your own login) If so, perhaps try with IIS running under a service account with no profile
Try removing the ActiveX components one by one to see if one of those is having an impact
... etc ...

I'm facing the same issue with powerpoint on Desktop (not a service) by copying a slide with picture from a template. (when getting about 200 copy paste in 1 presentation, but 1300 slides with same picture works fine ???)
It is hard to get this issue, I think it is hardware related, like RAM errors, but not sure
only 1 client of hundred get this error, so i think it is hardware related.
Note that i have a website that provide an Excel automataion and it works PERFECTLY, even "it is not supported by MS blah blah...." !
Your excel file seems to be corrupted, you have to find how.

Creating and saving word doc on server

i have this web application in c# .net running on an external web server.In that i am trying to generate and save the word doc on the server ( without opening it) . It runs fines on my local machine as i am having word installed on my machine but on the server it is showing error on using MyApplication Class. I understand it is not possible to install word on the server . Right now i am referenceing word.interopp assembly in my application .
Is there any better way to solve the issue .
Thanks and regards
Vickey Y.

If you're trying to use Office Interop without installing office on the server, then it's clearly going to fail.
Could you install Word on a different server and expose some sort of web service to create the document for you and serve the file contents back to the original server to save?
You may be able to use some third party libraries which can generate the relevant Word format, but I don't know of any.
What format does it have to be? Is it a complicated document? Could you just use RTF?

We use a third party tool called Aspose.Word. This allows you to perform a whole bunch of Word releated stuff without the need to install Word itself on the server.

the word.interop uses an instance of word to generate and save the documents. Even though it doesnt display the UI, the process of WINWORD will be running. In short, you need word installed on the server to use word.interop. When we did this, we also encountered issues when the servers needed to be compatible with word 2007 documents too, so its not an easy venture working with Word. Hope you get through the issue ok :)

I think you can do something like this.
I should alow you to open a document from the server.
protected void btnCreateWordBulletin_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
String a= Server.MapPath("/Solution/Templates/Sport/Sport.doc");
String b= Server.MapPath("/Solution/Templates/Sport/SportSave.doc");
CreateWordDocument(a, b);
}
protected void CreateWordDocument(object fileName, object saveAs)
{
//Set Missing Value parameter - used to represent
//a missing value when calling methods through interop
object missing = System.Reflection.Missing.Value;
//Setup the Word.App class
Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word.Application WordApp = new Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word.ApplicationClass();
Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word.Document aDoc = null;
// Check to see that file exists
if (System.IO.File.Exists((string)fileName))
{... Activating doc etc...}}

Yes, you can have Word running on server. However, note that opening winword.exe process from web service will probably fire winword.exe as ASPNET user. Some versions of MS word displayed some customization modal form during first run, making it impossible to automate process of using Word in server environment. The solution was making ASPNET “login-enabled” user, logging to server as an ASPNET user, running Word manually, closing all first-time-configuration modal forms, and then setting ASPNET user to its normal state. Since those configuration windows appeared only during first run of winword (more precisely: until configuration was approved by user), this actually worked.
Note: using winword on server needs some legal investigation. As far as I know MS attitude towards such solutions is rather negative, while some legal systems find it perfectly ok. Also take into consideration need for managing winword processes, and … and in fact, this is a bit crude hack.

OfficeWriter is another potential solution for you if you need true DOC and DOCX (as opposed to RTF or some other format):
http://www.officewriter.com

Take a look at OpenXML which is the file format all word (and Office) documents are saved in by default. http://openxmldeveloper.org/

Windows 7 taskbar - jumplist, jumplistlink and jumplistitem

I am using the Windows API Code Pack for Microsoft .NET Framework to try out of some of the new UI features of the Win7 taskbar. I am coding in C#.
I have a question regarding jumplists. All of the sample code provided assumes that the entries on the jump list are used to call out to run a particular application or open a document, e.g. a text document in a MRU list or run mspaint.exe.
I would like to implement some items which allow me to set state in my own application (i.e. the app which is interacting with the taskbar). MSN Messenger does this, for example, when you can set your status (Busy, Offline etc.).
Try as I might, I cannot create a JUmpListItem or JumpListLink to behave in this way - it treats them as applications or documents.
Does anyone have any samples of how to create an item which raises an event in the same application that created it? I am sure it is simple but I am being very daft.
Many thanks for your help.

I believe what you'd want to do is to call your application with a special set of flags (i.e. launch the executable with certain arguments). At application start up, you'd check to see what flags are set, then send a message to the main instance of the application and then exit out of the new instance.

Using the TaskBarDemo, to open an item created by your application would have to be referenced, ie if your program created a PDF file you would do this:
jumpList.AddUserTasks(new JumpListLink(Path.Combine(systemFolder, "C:\\Program Files\\Adobe\\Reader 9.0\\Reader\\AcroRD32.exe"), "Open Adobe Reader")
{
IconReference = new IconReference(Path.Combine(systemFolder, "C:\\Program Files\\Adobe\\Reader 9.0\\Reader\\AcroRD32.exe"), 0)
});
Otherwise you would have to ensure that your application registered file associations, for recent or frequent items.
I had a few problems with jumplists with the API Pack, i now use VS 2010 Beta 2 and let shell handle the jumplists.
Hope this is helpfull.

These tasks are some sort of IShellLink. Then, you should call ICustomDestinationList's AddUserTasks. Look up samples in Windows 7 Training Kit.