Review: SoftArtisans WordWriter 1.0 for the Java Platform

Overview
One of the many uses of Microsoft Word is to create document templates for stuff like envelopes, letters, faxes, forms, web pages, email messages, memos, calendars, resumes, invoices, reports etc. You then generate Word documents from these templates by opening these templates in Microsoft Word and filling in the required fields manually. The new Word document thus generated can be saved and worked with as desired.

Although possible, this method is cumbersome and expensive due to following reasons:

• Requires a person to do this manually.
• Requires separate Microsoft Word installations/licenses where ever you want this to happen.
• Is very slow as opening, filling in records and saving documents back is a time taking process.

But what if you would want to do this programmatically from your .NET/Java program without needing Microsoft Word installed on your server? Well you have got the solution in the form of SoftArtisans WordWriter. This is the product that I am going to review today.

Introduction
WordWriter is a library written for both .NET and Java which creates, modifies and delivers Microsoft Word documents over the web from document templates and a data source.

Key features of this product are:

• Doesn't require Microsoft Word to be installed on the server.
• High performance.
• Available in .NET and Java editions.

How does it work?
You will first have to create 1 or more Microsoft Word templates and then insert special Merge Fields within these templates. Save these templates and close Microsoft Word. You will then upload these templates to your server where your Java application server is running. Your Java application on the server will then open these templates and will make use of Java API provided by WordWriter to set the values of Merge Fields within the templates with the values that you provide. Once done, you can then stream the newly generated Word document back to the client browser and/or save it on the server hard disk.

I have selected Java edition of WordWriter for review. Following topics will be covered:

• Obtaining WordWriter.
• Installation.
• Configuration.
• Running Web Samples.
• Using WordWriter in a J2EE environment.
• Viewing Documentation.
• Comments.
• Links.

Obtaining WordWriter
To download the evaluation edition of WordWriter for Java, go to the SoftArtisans Download Section and select "OfficeWriterSE for Java" from the available options. "OfficeWriterSE for Java" contains evaluation editions of ExcelWriter and WordWriter.

Installation
The name of the file that I downloaded from SoftArtisans web site was "OfficeWriterSE-1.0J.zip". I unzipped it in a temporary folder. After unzipping, I found 2 files:

• OfficeWriterSE-Setup-1.0.jar
• OfficeWriterSE-Setup-1.0-Win32.exe

Both of them are setup files for WordWriter/ExcelWriter installation. Since I was using Windows 2000, I double-clicked OfficeWriterSE-Setup-1.0-Win32.exe to initiate the installation. If you are using an operating system other than Microsoft Windows, you would want to run the Java setup program by using a command like:

java -jar OfficeWriterSE-Setup-1.0.jar

Installation started by displaying a rather familiar Windows interface.

Window - WordWriter Installer

After that I had to accept the license agreement:

Window - Accepting License Agreement

Next it asked for a license key, since I was evaluating this product, I had no license key and left the field empty and simply clicked 'Next'. If you buy (or already have) WordWriter (OfficeWriterSE) then you can enter your license key here.

Window - Enter License Key

Next it asked for the location where WordWriter should be installed. I accepted the default.

Window - Choose Installation Folder

Next it asked me to choose the type of setup, I chose "Custom".

Window - Choose Type of Setup

Overview
One of the many uses of Microsoft Word is to create document templates for stuff like envelopes, letters, faxes, forms, web pages, email messages, memos, calendars, resumes, invoices, reports etc. You then generate Word documents from these templates by opening these templates in Microsoft Word and filling in the required fields manually. The new Word document thus generated can be saved and worked with as desired.

Although possible, this method is cumbersome and expensive due to following reasons:

• Requires a person to do this manually.
• Requires separate Microsoft Word installations/licenses where ever you want this to happen.
• Is very slow as opening, filling in records and saving documents back is a time taking process.

But what if you would want to do this programmatically from your .NET/Java program without needing Microsoft Word installed on your server? Well you have got the solution in the form of SoftArtisans WordWriter. This is the product that I am going to review today.

Introduction
WordWriter is a library written for both .NET and Java which creates, modifies and delivers Microsoft Word documents over the web from document templates and a data source.

Key features of this product are:

• Doesn't require Microsoft Word to be installed on the server.
• High performance.
• Available in .NET and Java editions.

How does it work?
You will first have to create 1 or more Microsoft Word templates and then insert special Merge Fields within these templates. Save these templates and close Microsoft Word. You will then upload these templates to your server where your Java application server is running. Your Java application on the server will then open these templates and will make use of Java API provided by WordWriter to set the values of Merge Fields within the templates with the values that you provide. Once done, you can then stream the newly generated Word document back to the client browser and/or save it on the server hard disk.

I have selected Java edition of WordWriter for review. Following topics will be covered:

• Obtaining WordWriter.
• Installation.
• Configuration.
• Running Web Samples.
• Using WordWriter in a J2EE environment.
• Viewing Documentation.
• Comments.
• Links.

Obtaining WordWriter
To download the evaluation edition of WordWriter for Java, go to the SoftArtisans Download Section and select "OfficeWriterSE for Java" from the available options. "OfficeWriterSE for Java" contains evaluation editions of ExcelWriter and WordWriter.

Installation
The name of the file that I downloaded from SoftArtisans web site was "OfficeWriterSE-1.0J.zip". I unzipped it in a temporary folder. After unzipping, I found 2 files:

• OfficeWriterSE-Setup-1.0.jar
• OfficeWriterSE-Setup-1.0-Win32.exe

Both of them are setup files for WordWriter/ExcelWriter installation. Since I was using Windows 2000, I double-clicked OfficeWriterSE-Setup-1.0-Win32.exe to initiate the installation. If you are using an operating system other than Microsoft Windows, you would want to run the Java setup program by using a command like:

java -jar OfficeWriterSE-Setup-1.0.jar

Installation started by displaying a rather familiar Windows interface.

Window - WordWriter Installer

After that I had to accept the license agreement:

Window - Accepting License Agreement

Next it asked for a license key, since I was evaluating this product, I had no license key and left the field empty and simply clicked 'Next'. If you buy (or already have) WordWriter (OfficeWriterSE) then you can enter your license key here.

Window - Enter License Key

Next it asked for the location where WordWriter should be installed. I accepted the default.

Window - Choose Installation Folder

Next it asked me to choose the type of setup, I chose "Custom".

Window - Choose Type of Setup