Excel macros to control Java application

musicgold · #1 (**permalink**) 12-03-2008, 10:10 PM

Hi,

Is there a way to create a macro to control a Java-based application interface? I have a Java based application on which I spend a lot of time doing repetitive tasks.
I use Excel based macros to access web pages and download files. I wonder if there is a similar way to have a macro in Excel which can open the Java application and feed the necessary information in its text boxes.

Thanks,

MG.

xcallmejudasx · #2 (**permalink**) 12-03-2008, 10:39 PM

Not sure about excel but you could write a java application to do that. load.exec("command.exe", some text file with the information)

This would require you to write a batch file that changes to the directory the java application is saved and then run it from there. As far as feeding the information to it I'm not sure

musicgold · #3 (**permalink**) 12-03-2008, 10:49 PM

xcallmejudasx,

Thanks. Could you point me to a site where I can read the basics of creating the java application you mentioned?

MG.

xcallmejudasx · #4 (**permalink**) 12-03-2008, 11:03 PM

Do you know Java programming? If not then I wouldn't recommend this option because it may require some complex working.Java 2 Platform SE 5.0 is the class you use to open run a program from within Java. I know you can tell it what file to open using what program but I have no idea if you can also give it extra information and say populate some fields with information on load.

musicgold · #5 (**permalink**) 12-03-2008, 11:16 PM

xcallmejudasx,

Thanks. No, I don't know Java programming.

MG.

Fubarable · #6 (**permalink**) 12-03-2008, 11:23 PM

You might want to try out a windows batch language such as WinBatch. They can help you automate repetitive tasks and since they're built to do this, they're a lot easier to use than Java or to try to shoehorn another language's macros to do something they weren't intended to do.

cpf · #7 (**permalink**) 04-25-2009, 05:30 PM

You can use Obba (Java Object Handler) to call Java methods (as well as working with Java objects) directly from Excel cells. Alternative it can be done with XLL4J, however this requires some additional coding in Java.

OrangeDog · #8 (**permalink**) 04-25-2009, 07:30 PM

Most have missed the point of the OP. They want to control Java from Excel, not the other way around.

In short, it shouldn't be done. Excel macros are designed for writing macros for Excel, not for general batch tasks.

cpf · #9 (**permalink**) 04-25-2009, 10:43 PM

If I understand the original post correctly, then he has a some sophisticated functionality written in Java and he would like to access this functionality from excel.

While I would agree that you should use a macro (i.e., a vba sub) to control java, the solution to his problem could be to provide the required functionality as a user defined function. This function could be implemented in vba (as a vba function) or in C or C++ (as an XLL) or in Java. The additional functionality then is an add in (or plug in).

In the industry (e.g. finance) Excel is usually extended with add ins written in C or C++ or C# (xlls or dlls). The solution(s) I mentioned allow to extend excels FUNCTIONality via Java libraries.