how to use MS Office with proprietary java back-end document system

The Problem (Q-score 10, ranked #61st of 95 in the VBA Core archive)

The scenario as originally posted in 2013

Currently I have a document system that launches documents in Star Office or LibreOffice in an iframe.

Moving to the future I ideally want to retain the document system I have but integrate this into SharePoint so as to enable us to open and edit documents using MS Office.

As there is no Java Api to integrate with MS Office this is why I have chosen to go with SharePoint.

I can manage to get my documents to load from a link on a sharepoint page but then comes the hard part of manipulating the save features in MS Office and ensuring that my document doesn’t get saved in sharepoint.

Has anyone done anything similar.

Basically I just want to use MS Office to interact with my documents without storing things in sharepoint. So I need to get access to the save functions etc.

As far as I see Apache POI is not a viable solution as it doesn’t physically open the document and allow user to click file -> save. My understanding is that it can manipulate documents by manipulating them in code but can’t use any of the controls in office.

I’ve read here http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/bb462633(v=office.12).aspx?cs-save-lang=1&cs-lang=vb#code-snippet-2 that you can repurpose the commands in office and modify the ribbon?

Thanks for any advice

It appears it is possible with WOPI and Office Web Apps. Basically needing to create a WOPI application

Why community consensus is tight on this one

Across 95 VBA Core entries in the archive, the accepted answer here holds niche answer (below median) status — meaning voters are unusually aligned on the right fix.

The Verified Solution — niche answer (below median) (+4)

276-line VBA Core pattern (copy-ready)

Well I had the same problem, so I actually wrote a quick PPT editor with Apache POI and SVG edit.. But then I switched to the Office Web Apps.. Here is quick implementation of the WOPI server, I am a Java guy so my .NET skills are quite horrible. Writing a servlet should be trivial.

Logic is simple:

Pass WOPISrc to the office web apps – this is basically the URL of your WOPI server with the file location in it. You can ignore access_token/access_token_ttl for now.

The Office Web Apps with hit the WOPISrc url with at least 2 requests:

1. It will be a meta data request, which is basically is a GET call to the WOPIsrc. You will create a WOPI (CheckFileInfo) object and send it back JSON encoded to the office web apps.
2. Now the Office Web Apps will request the file itself, it will append ( /contents ) to the end of the WOPIsrc. So just send it back in binary format.
3. (Optional) Office Web Apps will do a POST to the ( WOPISrc + “/contents”) on save. You can grab the data from the POST and save to the disk.

Note: Word doesn’t work :/ You can view only, for the edit you need to implement Cobalt protocol (FSSHTTP). I am somewhat researching this topic, but it will be easier to write in C# since you can grab a Cobalt assembly. Otherwise this protocols implements SOAP (FSSHTTP) with BASE64 encoded binary messages (FSSHTTPB)

Open the Office Web Apps with something like this:

http://OFFICEWEBAPPS.HOST/p/PowerPointFrame.aspx?PowerPointView=EditView&access_token=12345&WOPISrc=URLENCODED_URL_OF_THE_WOPI_SERVER

Like: http://WOPISERVER.HOST:2000/wopi/files/1.pptx

This will open 1.pptx in your c:temp

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Collections;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Web;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Json;

namespace WopiServerTutorial
{
    public class WopiServer
    {
        private HttpListener Listener;

        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            WopiServer s = new WopiServer();
            s.Start();

            Console.WriteLine("A simple wopi webserver. Press a key to quit.");
            Console.ReadKey();

            s.Stop();
        }

        public void Start()
        {
            Listener = new HttpListener();
            Listener.Prefixes.Add(@"http://+:8080/");
            Listener.Start();
            Listener.BeginGetContext(ProcessRequest, Listener);
            Console.WriteLine(@"WopiServer Started");
        }

        public void Stop()
        {
            Listener.Stop();
        }

        private void ProcessRequest(IAsyncResult result)
        {
            HttpListener listener = (HttpListener)result.AsyncState;
            HttpListenerContext context = listener.EndGetContext(result);

            Console.WriteLine(@"Got a " + context.Request.HttpMethod  + " request for URL: " + context.Request.Url.PathAndQuery);
            var stringarr = context.Request.Url.AbsolutePath.Split('/');
            var rootDir = @"C:\temp\";

            if (stringarr.Length == 5 && context.Request.HttpMethod.Equals(@"GET"))
            {
                Console.WriteLine(@"Getting content for the file: " + rootDir + stringarr[3]);

                // get file's content
                var file = rootDir + stringarr[3];
                var stream = new FileStream(file, FileMode.Open);
                var fi = new FileInfo(file);

                context.Response.ContentType = @"application/octet-stream";
                context.Response.ContentLength64 = fi.Length;
                stream.CopyTo(context.Response.OutputStream);
                context.Response.Close();
            }
            //else if (stringarr.Length == 5 && context.Request.HttpMethod.Equals(@"POST"))
            //{
            //    // write
            //}
            else if (stringarr.Length == 4 && context.Request.HttpMethod.Equals(@"GET"))
            {
                Console.WriteLine(@"Getting metdata for the file: " + rootDir + stringarr[3]);
                var fi = new FileInfo(rootDir + stringarr[3]);

                CheckFileInfo cfi = new CheckFileInfo();
                cfi.AllowExternalMarketplace = false;
                cfi.BaseFileName = fi.Name;
                cfi.BreadcrumbBrandName = "";
                cfi.BreadcrumbBrandUrl = "";
                cfi.BreadcrumbDocName = "";
                cfi.BreadcrumbDocUrl = "";
                cfi.BreadcrumbFolderName = "";
                cfi.BreadcrumbFolderUrl = "";
                cfi.ClientUrl = "";
                cfi.CloseButtonClosesWindow = false;
                cfi.CloseUrl = "";
                cfi.DisableBrowserCachingOfUserContent = true;
                cfi.DisablePrint = true;
                cfi.DisableTranslation = true;
                cfi.DownloadUrl = "";
                cfi.FileUrl = "";
                cfi.FileSharingUrl = "";
                cfi.HostAuthenticationId = "s-1-5-21-3430578067-4192788304-1690859819-21774";
                cfi.HostEditUrl = "";
                cfi.HostEmbeddedEditUrl = "";
                cfi.HostEmbeddedViewUrl = "";
                cfi.HostName = @"SharePoint";
                cfi.HostNotes = @"HostBIEnabled";
                cfi.HostRestUrl = "";
                cfi.HostViewUrl = "";
                cfi.IrmPolicyDescription = "";
                cfi.IrmPolicyTitle = "";
                cfi.OwnerId = @"4257508bfe174aa28b461536d8b6b648";
                cfi.PresenceProvider = "AD";
                cfi.PresenceUserId = @"S-1-5-21-3430578067-4192788304-1690859819-21774";
                cfi.PrivacyUrl = "";
                cfi.ProtectInClient = false;
                cfi.ReadOnly = false;
                cfi.RestrictedWebViewOnly = false;
                cfi.SHA256 = "";
                cfi.SignoutUrl = "";
                cfi.Size = fi.Length;
                cfi.SupportsCoauth = false;
                cfi.SupportsCobalt = false;
                cfi.SupportsFolders = false;
                cfi.SupportsLocks = true;
                cfi.SupportsScenarioLinks = false;
                cfi.SupportsSecureStore = false;
                cfi.SupportsUpdate = true;
                cfi.TenantId = @"33b62539-8c5e-423c-aa3e-cc2a9fd796f2";
                cfi.TermsOfUseUrl = "";
                cfi.TimeZone = @"+0300#0000-11-00-01T02:00:00:0000#+0000#0000-03-00-02T02:00:00:0000#-0060";
                cfi.UserCanAttend = false;
                cfi.UserCanNotWriteRelative = false;
                cfi.UserCanPresent = false;
                cfi.UserCanWrite = true;
                cfi.UserFriendlyName = "";
                cfi.UserId = "";
                cfi.Version = @"%22%7B59CCD75F%2D0687%2D4F86%2DBBCF%2D059126640640%7D%2C1%22";
                cfi.WebEditingDisabled = false;

                // encode json
                var memoryStream = new MemoryStream();
                var json = new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(CheckFileInfo));
                json.WriteObject(memoryStream, cfi);
                memoryStream.Flush();
                memoryStream.Position = 0;
                StreamReader streamReader = new StreamReader(memoryStream);
                var jsonResponse = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(streamReader.ReadToEnd());

                context.Response.ContentType = @"application/json";
                context.Response.ContentLength64 = jsonResponse.Length;
                context.Response.OutputStream.Write(jsonResponse, 0, jsonResponse.Length);
                context.Response.Close();
            }
            else
            {
                byte[] buffer = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("");
                context.Response.ContentLength64 = buffer.Length;
                context.Response.ContentType = @"application/json";
                context.Response.OutputStream.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
                context.Response.OutputStream.Close();
            }

            Listener.BeginGetContext(ProcessRequest, Listener);
        }
    }

    [DataContract]
    public class CheckFileInfo
    {
        [DataMember]
        public bool AllowExternalMarketplace { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string BaseFileName { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string BreadcrumbBrandName { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string BreadcrumbBrandUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string BreadcrumbDocName { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string BreadcrumbDocUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string BreadcrumbFolderName { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string BreadcrumbFolderUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string ClientUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool CloseButtonClosesWindow { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string CloseUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool DisableBrowserCachingOfUserContent { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool DisablePrint { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool DisableTranslation { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string DownloadUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string FileSharingUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string FileUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string HostAuthenticationId { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string HostEditUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string HostEmbeddedEditUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string HostEmbeddedViewUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string HostName { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string HostNotes { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string HostRestUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string HostViewUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string IrmPolicyDescription { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string IrmPolicyTitle { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string OwnerId { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string PresenceProvider { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string PresenceUserId { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string PrivacyUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool ProtectInClient { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool ReadOnly { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool RestrictedWebViewOnly { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string SHA256 { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string SignoutUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public long Size { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool SupportsCoauth { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool SupportsCobalt { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool SupportsFolders { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool SupportsLocks { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool SupportsScenarioLinks { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool SupportsSecureStore { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool SupportsUpdate { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string TenantId { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string TermsOfUseUrl { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string TimeZone { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool UserCanAttend { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool UserCanNotWriteRelative { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool UserCanPresent { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool UserCanWrite { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string UserFriendlyName { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string UserId { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public string Version { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public bool WebEditingDisabled { get; set; }
    }
}

When to Use It — classic (2013–2016)

Ranked #61st in its category — specialized fit

This pattern sits in the 97% tail relative to the top answer. Reach for it when your scenario closely matches the question title; otherwise browse the VBA Core archive for a higher-consensus alternative.

What changed between 2013 and 2026

The answer is 13 years old. The VBA Core object model has been stable across Office 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 365, and 2024/2026 LTSC, so the pattern still compiles. Changes that might affect you: 64-bit API declarations (use PtrSafe), blocked macros in downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), and the shift toward Office Scripts for web-first workflows.