Configuring an HTML Viewer for SharePoint 2003


Microsoft offers an application that can enable SharePoint 2003 site visitors to view standard Office files without having the actual applications loaded on their workstations. This requires that one or more systems be configured and made available to the SharePoint 2003 environment for this purpose. The standard file types supported by this service are .doc, .xls, .ppt, and .pps. The HTML Viewer Service does not allow anonymous users to view documents in HTML, so it is required to configure the SharePoint server to not allow anonymous access and have accounts for all users who will be using the HTML viewing service.

The HTML Viewing software can be downloaded from Microsoft and is available from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/, and enter HTML Viewer in the Search for a download search box. A whitepaper titled "Microsoft Office HTML Viewer Service for Windows SharePoint Services" is included with the download and contains additional details about the HTML viewing process and some advice on customization that can be performed to support file types other than the default Office files.

The recommended configuration for the HTML Viewer is fairly minimal: an XP Professional workstation with at least 256MB of RAM and 40GB hard drive. For many organizations, however, a server class system is more desirable for performance, security, and logistical reasons. For example, a server class system can typically handle more RAM, has standard components that can easily be supported and replaced on a priority basis if needed, and is typically easier to rack-mount.

If an XP Professional workstation is used, it should be dedicated to this purpose and not be used as a client system because active use of the Office 2003 applications while they are processing HTML view requests results in slower performance. It is also recommended that the HTML Viewer system not be exposed to the Internet, because information is passed between the HTML Viewer system and the SharePoint 2003 system in unencrypted form.

If Netscape Navigator browsers are in use, the user experience is slightly different because Navigator does not automatically detect whether Office is installed on the client computer. By default, Navigator installations always present the option to view Office documents as HTML files or to use a local application.

Unsupported file types are as follows:

  • Master documents in Word (a master document contains links to a set of related subdocuments, which makes it easier to organize and maintain a long document)

  • Password-protected documents, workbooks, and presentations (encrypted)

  • Word documents that use framesets

  • Files that contain Excel 4.0 macros

  • WordPerfect files

For files with embedded objects, VBA, scripts, and so on, the following rules apply:

  • VBA is ignored and not executed; however, the VBA project (source code, dialog definitions, and so on) is retained.

  • Embedded and linked objects are converted to graphic images and displayed in the approximate location where they were in the source file.

  • Linked or embedded objects with password protection are not converted.

To improve the security of the information transferred, the HTML Viewer system sets the cached copy of the HTML file to expire after a short period of time. This limits the length of time the file resides on that system, and reduces the chance of an unauthorized user being able to view the file after the authorized user has ended the session.

The installation process required on the HTML Viewer system is as follows:

1.

Download the Microsoft Office HTML Viewer Service for Windows SharePoint Services from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/ and search for "HTML Viewer" and select the HTML Viewer Service for Windows SharePoint Services."

2.

Click on the Download button, select Save, and choose a location for the htmlview.exe file.

3.

Double click the file htmlview.exe after it is downloaded, and then type the location on the HTML Viewer system where the extracted files will be placed (such as C:\Program Files\HTML Viewer). Click OK. If the directory does not exist, a prompt asks whether it should be created.

4.

Copy the files ENG11PROBYPASS.MST and HTMLTRBACKEND.MSI files from the directory where the files were extracted to the computer and folder where the setup.exe for Microsoft Office 2003 will be run. Copy all the Office 2003 files to this directory. This ensures that when the setup command is entered all the required files are available.

5.

From the command prompt of the workstation, enter the following command line from the folder where the ENG11PROBYPASS.MST file is located:

 setup TRANSFORMS=ENG11PROBYPASS.MST 

This starts the Office 2003 installation process. It is recommended to accept the default installation location for the Office 2003 files.

6.

Select the appropriate Office applications to install. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are the defaults.

7.

After the Office 2003 install process completes, run the Microsoft Office HTML Viewer install package on the Office HTML Viewer system by entering the following command at the DOS prompt:

 HTMLTRBACKEND.MSI 

This starts the Microsoft Office 2003 HTML Viewer Setup.

8.

Accept the end-user license agreement and click Next.

9.

Accept the default install location of C:\Office11.0\ and click Next.

10.

Click Install on the next page, and the installation process commences.

11.

Click Finish when the process completes.

12.

Install the Microsoft Office 2003 patch available from http://office.microsoft.com by selecting the Check for Updates option, scanning the system, and downloading the Office Critical Update Patch KB828041.

Note that IIS also needs to be installed and running on this system, so verify that it is working properly because SharePoint 2003 will be looking for a URL to connect to the HTML Viewing software. Also, check that the Office HTML Viewer Service and Office HTML Viewer Load Balancing Service are started in the Service Control Monitor.

Next, SharePoint Portal Server 2003 needs to be configured to use the Office HTML Viewer service.

1.

From the Central Administration page for Windows SharePoint Services, click on the Configure HTML Viewer link in the Server Configuration area.

2.

When in the Configure HTML Viewer page check the Allow HTML Viewing box in the Turn on HTML Viewer section of the page (as shown in Figure 7.11).

Figure 7.11. Configure HTML Viewer page.


3.

Enter the complete URL of the HTML Viewer system. The HTML Viewer uses port 8093, and the default URL should include this port number. This port must be available on the Windows SharePoint Services server as well as the Office HTML Viewer server. If this port is being used for other purposes on the HTML Viewing server, it can be changed, and instructions are provided in the whitepaper provided with the software.

The Maximum Cache Size limits the size of the HTML Viewer cache table in the Windows SharePoint Services content database. The default Maximum Cache Size is 5,000MB (5 gigabytes), and should the HTML Viewer cache fill up with translated documents, the oldest HTML files are deleted from the cache. If a deleted file is needed again later, Windows SharePoint Server requests a new HTML file conversion.

Maximum File Size sets the maximum file size accepted by the HTML Viewer service. Files larger than this value are not processed. The default Maximum File Size is 3,000KB (~3 megabytes).

Timeout Length determines the maximum conversion time allowed for a single file to process. The default Timeout Length is 30 seconds.

4.

Click OK after the settings have been entered.

5.

Test the HTML Viewer by attempting to access a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document on the SharePoint Portal Server 2003 from a client who does not have the corresponding Office application installed. When the file is selected from within the document library, the user sees the page shown in Figure 7.12.

Figure 7.12. SharePoint View in HTML option.


After the View in HTML button is clicked, the SharePoint 2003 server communicates with the HTML Viewer server, which processes the document and returns it when complete. Figure 7.13 shows a sample Excel document displayed as an HTML document. Note that the display truncates some text that would be visible normally, and the cells are not selectable, so there is some sacrifice of quality possible in HTML viewing. Files should be tested to make sure that the information is displayed accurately enough to be useful to the end users.

Figure 7.13. HTML view of Excel spreadsheet.


The Office HTML Viewer service can be configured to always convert files to HTML instead of submitting native format files to the client computer. This may be useful to organizations concerned with the security of their documents and have users in the field. Refer to the whitepaper included with the HTML Viewer download for more information on this process.




Microsoft SharePoint 2003 Unleashed
Microsoft SharePoint 2003 Unleashed (2nd Edition) (Unleashed)
ISBN: 0672328038
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 288

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