While trying out the Excel Connector I came across an option in the publishing dialog to specify a local or remote XML file. It occurred to me that this would make it very easy to craft a simple XML file (other than by using Excel) and then publish it as a service. I found a reference in the Excel Connector documentation saying that you must store your published excel data as an XML file, but it doesn't actually say you can also use this connector to publish any XML file.
I tried it yesterday for a quick chart mashlet I wanted to pop on our intranet. Worked like a charm. Just create your XML file, open a blank excel spreadsheet, use the publish option on the Connector add-in, browse to your XML, and publish it. And there it is, your XML published as a service.
Maybe there's another way to do the same thing elsewhere, but this was so simple ... I had to tell someone :)
There is also one advantage of doing XML as a REST service over using the Excel Connector to publish it. Currently, there is a size limit when you publish files from the Excel Connector. This would not be true with a REST service.
Hi fellow mashers,
While trying out the Excel Connector I came across an option in the publishing dialog to specify a local or remote XML file. It occurred to me that this would make it very easy to craft a simple XML file (other than by using Excel) and then publish it as a service. I found a reference in the Excel Connector documentation saying that you must store your published excel data as an XML file, but it doesn't actually say you can also use this connector to publish any XML file.
I tried it yesterday for a quick chart mashlet I wanted to pop on our intranet. Worked like a charm. Just create your XML file, open a blank excel spreadsheet, use the publish option on the Connector add-in, browse to your XML, and publish it. And there it is, your XML published as a service.
Maybe there's another way to do the same thing elsewhere, but this was so simple ... I had to tell someone :)
Cheers, Innes (NZ)