Programmatically read/write Excel Web App on Office 365

Question

I'd like to read and write cells on an Excel Web App hosted at Office 365. There seems to be conflicting information online whether API access to EWA is even possible.

I would expect to use some of the RESTful APIs, such as the following:

https://[myoffice365site]/personal/[myusername]/Documents/[myworkbook].xlsx/model

But when I do, I receive a generic 404 error. I've also been unable to find any tokens or API keys in my Office 365 account.

Has anyone had any luck accessing an Excel Web App using C# or Javascript?

Thank you!

Answer 1

hbeam

Yes, we do have an API that allows reading and writing to cells in Excel Web App via a JavaScript library. This code needs to be running in an "App for Excel" which is embedded in the Excel document. Here's some documentation to get you started: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/dn448457

If you reply with some additional information about what you are trying to accomplish with the app, I can give further guidance on which API to use and how to use it.

A RESTful API to accomplish what you're asking is not currently available. We've heard from many developers and customers who are interested in that type of programmability, and we'll take your feedback into account.

Thanks for the question! -Michael