Using the Web Browser ActiveX in InTouch to open Microsoft Office documents.

Problem Statement

Would like operators to view Microsoft Office documents, but do not want them to have to open additional applications. Would like the document to be displayed within InTouch itself so that the operator can do everything within WindowViewer.

Solution Details

InTouch allows ActiveX controls to be embedded into its windows. The Web Browser control is a simplified version of Internet Explorer, and it is capable of opening many types of files.

Note: This solution does require Microsoft Office to be installed on the computer.

Solution Steps:

Step 1: Add the Web Browser control as an available Wizard.

• Open InTouch WindowMaker.
• From the Special menu go to Configure>Wizard/ActiveX Installation.
• Click on the tab for ActiveX Control Installation.
• Under Available ActiveX controls, find Microsoft Web Browser, and then click Install, which will add it to the list of “Installed ActiveX controls.”

Step 2: Add the Web Browser control to an InTouch Window

• Open a Window within InTouch WindowMaker.
• Click on the Wizards icon and select
• From the Special menu go to Configure>Wizard/ActiveX Installation.
• Select the “Explorer” icon from the ActiveX Controls:

• Add this to your Window, and expand it to fill the amount of space your document should consume.
• Double click on the control and note the ControlName for use in Step 3.

Step 3: Add a Button to the Window to open the document

• Add a button to the Window.
• Double click on the Window to open the Animation Links.
• Under Touch Pushbuttons, add an Action Script.
• Enter a script similar to the following: #Explorer1.Navigate(“C:\MyExcelWorkbook.xls”,””,””,””,””);
  • Be sure to replace “Explorer1” with the ControlName found at the end of Step 2.
  • Replace the string “C:\MyExcelWorkbook.xls” with the path to the file you would like to open.
• If you now test this in WindowViewer, InTouch will attempt to open the document, but may open it in a separate window. Continue to Step 4 to make the document open within InTouch.

Step 4: Modify the Windows Registry so the document opens within InTouch WindowViewer. (Steps for Excel 2010)

• Open the Windows Registry by going to the Start Button and running Regedit.
• Backup your registry by going to File> Export, selecting to Export “All”, and saving a backup to your hard drive.
• Browse through your registry to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Excel.Sheet.12 and find the BrowserFlags key.
  • Set the value of this key (Dword) to Decimal 65536 to open the file within the browser control in InTouch.
  • Set the value of this key (Dword) to Decimal 8 to open the file in a new window (The default).

• Reboot the computer.

Note: The following Knowledge Base article from Microsoft lists the location of registry keys for other Microsoft Office products: http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=162059