Some documents at the RRB
website are available in MS Excel format. MS Excel is part of the Microsoft
Office suite of applications, and you must have MS Excel installed on your
computer to use files in this format. If you do not have MS Excel on your
computer, you can also download the free plug-in,
MS Excel Viewer
,
to view these files directly from your browser.
Your computer's
combination of hardware and software -- and the versions of the software -- are
important factors in determining what you will see when you click on an MS Excel
file. Rather than trying to predict exactly what you will see under the numerous
possible combinations of hardware, browsers, and Excel versions, we will
describe the most common situations.
Topics in this help page:
Viewing with MS Excel Viewer
The free
MS Excel Viewer
is recommended for use with a computer
that does not have Microsoft Excel installed. This product allows the user to
open and view Excel spreadsheet files.
- When you click on a link to an MS Excel file, the browser automatically
launches an Excel plug-in that lets you view and print the Excel file directly
from the browser.
- To go back to the previous page in the browser, simply click the browser's
"back" arrow in the upper left corner of the screen.
Viewing with MS Excel
- When you click on a link to an MS Excel file, the browser asks whether you
want to open the file or save it to disk. To view the file, choose the "open"
option. The browser will launch Excel (not a plug-in) and open the file in
Excel. Occasionally, you may have to use the Windows Task Bar (or the Apple
Active-Applications list (in the upper right corner)) to activate Excel after
it's launched by the browser.
- If you chose to save the file, choose a folder and enter a file name in
the Save dialog. Remember to note the name you give the file and which folder
you put it in. Then you can launch MS Excel from the Windows START menu and
use the File/Open menu to open the downloaded file. Or you can find the file
on your hard drive or server and double-click the file icon -- the file will
automatically launch in Excel.
- To go back to the previous page in the browser, simply close Excel. Or you
can click the browser's button on the Windows Task Bar (or choose the browser
application from the Apple Active-Applications list).
Note: Some older versions of your
browser or MS Office may not offer this smooth click-and-open integration, in
which case you should use the download option.
Downloading the File
You can download any file (Word, Excel or PDF) to your hard drive or server
according to the following table:
PC |
Internet Explorer |
Right-Click |
Save Target As |
PC |
Netscape Navigator |
Right-Click |
Save Link As |
Mac |
Internet Explorer |
Control-Click |
Download Link to
Disk |
Mac |
Netscape Navigator |
Control-Click |
Save this link as |
Older versions of the browsers may have slightly different menu command
names.
- When the Save dialog comes up, choose a folder and enter a file name.
Remember to note the name you give the file and which folder you put it in.
After the file has been downloaded, you may need to close the download status
box.
- Then you can launch MS Excel from your computer's START menu (Windows) and
use the File/Open menu to open the downloaded file. Or you can find the file
on your hard drive or server and double-click the file icon -- the file will
automatically launch in Excel.
Problems You May Encounter
- Problem 1 -- You click on an
Excel file from your browser and see "garbage" (random characters). This
problem appears to be exclusive to Netscape Navigator. You should still be
able to download the Excel file and open it using Excel.
- Problem 2 -- You are done
viewing the Excel file and you close the file or hit the browser's "back"
button to go to the previous page in the browser. A dialog box pops up telling
you that the document you are looking at has been modified and asks you
whether you want to save changes. Click NO.
Accessibility in Microsoft Products
Read about the
accessibility features
built into Microsoft products.
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