Loading Excel on a terminal server

[tmar]

I've got a VB.net application that has a utility that throws items from a standard grid into Excel. Many of our users get into this application via a terminal server which doesn't have Excel loaded and looking at the server licensing cost, I'm in no hurry to load it.

Can VB load Excel through the program on a server without an Excel license somehow? Or are my options to either have this utility nonfunctional for those on the terminal server or pony up for the License?

Not that it matters but all users have MS Office licensed on their primary PC and just use the termal server to pull info.

 

[SkipVought]

So what would be the purpose of loading Excel on a server, since all users have licensed versions locally?

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE![/sub]

 

[tmar]

The intent is that users can request data from the database through the program and it would load the data into Excel for easy manipulation (sorting/grouping/excluding/changing etc.) and then save and copy that Excel file to their local machine. Or, similarly throwing the data into an Excel file that they could just save/copy to their local machine and then manipulate.

 

[SkipVought]

That's just files! Has nothing to do with having Excel loaded on a server!!!

My company posts thousands of Excel files on servers for common access all over the world. If someone has that application (Excel) loaded on their local PC, then they can open the file and have at it.

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE![/sub]

 

[tmar]

That's just my issue though. I am currently unable to make Excel load on the terminal server via VB.net. When a user connects via terminal server and runs the program that throws grid info into Excel, nothing happens.