1 Correct answer
here's a sample of how to create an excel file using jsx/vbs
...// creates and runs a vbs file that creates an excel file
// carlos canto
// http://forums.adobe.com/message/5615242?tstart=0#5615242
var vbscript = [
'Err.Clear',
'On Error Resume Next \r',
'set app = GetObject(,"Excel.Application") \r',
'If (Err.number <> 0) Then',
' Set app = CreateObject("Excel.Application")',
'End If \r',
'app.visible = true',
'set newDoc = app.Workbooks.Add',
'app.Range("A1:C1") = Array("1", "2", 3)',
'app.Dialogs(5).Show \r
28
Replies
Ariel
If they had a "very very helpful" link I would have clicked it. 
I shall look over it carefully over the next couple of days.
It looks like it solves 1/2 the "real" problem. That is not how to open a tab delimited text file with excel but how to create an excel sheet. That is really great.
The other half is how to do it on a Mac.
Hope to get some more feedback.
Trevor
well, i can only test with excel 2004 at the moment, but as the only thing you want to do is opening that file it should be the same.
Tested a tabdelimitted-textfile.
tell application "Microsoft Excel"
open alias "some:mac:path"
end tell
I own Excell 2011 mac and may test any code 
... if you want
Hans
OK Here's for some homework 
First script creates the whole file in Excel then opens the save as dialog.
// make xls file on mac
// http://forums.adobe.com/message/5610204#5610204
// http://www.mactech.com/articles/mactech/Vol.23/23.02/2302AppleScript/index.html was a big help
// http://macscripter.net/viewtopic.php?id=39768 also helped
if (($.os.match(/Mac/i))
{
var rangeContents = '{{"My Text File opened in excel"},{"This is cell A:2", "This is cell B:2", "This is cell C:2"}, {"This is cell A:3", "This is cell B:3", "This is cell C:3"}, {"Thanks a million""}}';
var myAppleScript2 = 'tell application "Microsoft Excel"\r'
+ 'set theWorkbook to make new workbook\r'
+ 'tell active sheet of theWorkbook\r'
+ 'set value of range "A1:C4" to ' + rangeContents + '\r'
+ 'autofit columns\r'
+ 'end tell\r'
+ 'show (get dialog dialog save as)\r'
+ 'end tell\r' ;
app.doScript (myAppleScript2, ScriptLanguage.APPLESCRIPT_LANGUAGE);
}
Second script Opens Text file with Excel then saves it as an excel file. @Ariel might get to see if my mac saveas function works.
// For Mac Open txt File with Excel and Save as xls
// http://forums.adobe.com/message/5610204#5610204
// http://www.mactech.com/articles/mactech/Vol.23/23.02/2302AppleScript/index.html was a big help
txtFileContents = "My Text File opened in excel\nThis is cell A:2\tThis is cell B:2\tThis is cell C:2\nThis is cell A:3\tThis is cell B:3\tThis is cell C:3\nThanks a million\n";
if ((textFile = saveFile (txtFileContents)) && ($.os.match(/Mac/i)) && (confirm ("Do you wish to open the text file in Microsoft Excel? ", false)))
{
var macFileName = textFile.fsName.replace(/\\/g, ":").replace(/::/, ":"); // highly doubt the replaces are neaded Please can you test,
var macXlsFileName = macFileName.replace(/txt$/i, "xls");
var myAppleScript1 = 'tell application "Microsoft Excel"\r'
+ 'open text file filename "' + macFileName + '" data type delimited tab true\r'
+ 'tell active sheet\r'
+ 'autofit columns\r'
+ 'end tell\r'
+ 'tell active workbook\r'
+ 'save workbook as filename "' + macXlsFileName + '"file format Excel98to2004 file format\r'
+ 'end tell\r'
+ 'end tell\r' ;
app.doScript (myAppleScript1, ScriptLanguage.APPLESCRIPT_LANGUAGE);
}
function SaveDialog (myFilePromt /* The file promt" */
,Preset /* The desired suffix */
, warning /* OPTIONAL if true warn on overwrite, defalt is FALSE */)
{
var suffix = Preset.match(/[^.]*$/),
regSuffix = new RegExp("\\." + suffix + "$", "i"),
myFile = ($.os.match(/Mac/i)) ? File.openDialog (myFilePromt, function (f) { return (f instanceof Folder) || f.name.match(regSuffix);}) // if Mac
: File.saveDialog (myFilePromt, [Preset]); // else
if (myFile)
{
var myFileName = myFile.name;
if (! regSuffix.test(myFileName)) myFile = File (myFile.path + "/" + myFileName += "." + suffix);
if (myFile.exists)
{
if ($.os.match(/Mac/i) && myFile.readonly)
{
alert (myFile.name + "\rThis file is set to read-only.\rTry again with a different file name."); SaveDialog (myFilePromt, Preset, warning);
};
else if (warning) if (!confirm ("The file " + File.decode(myFile.name) + "\nexists, do want to overwrite it? ", false, "Comfirm Save")) SaveDialog (myFilePromt, Preset, warning);
}
return myFile;
}
}
function saveFile (fileContents)
{
var myNewFile = SaveDialog ("Please enter then name of text file to save." // The file save prompt --- Change as desired
,"Text:*.txt" // The filter --- Change as desired
, true) // OPTIONAL if true give warn on overwrite, default is FALSE
if (myNewFile) // save file if cancel was not pressed
{
var mod;
mod = (myNewFile.exists) ? myNewFile.modified.toString() : 0;
myNewFile.open('w');
myNewFile.write(fileContents);
myNewFile.close();
if (myNewFile.modified.toString() == mod)
{
alert((File.decode(myNewFile)) + "\nWAS NOT SAVED\n(Check if the file is readonly or open)");
saveFile ();
}
return myNewFile // file saved
}
return false // file not saved
}
Scripts are completly untested
Chance of them working:- Not so great 
Script 3:
Sorry about this one completly off the topic, not a mac specific script and nothing to do with excel or the original question
BUT if someone could test it on a NON-ENGLISH computer it would be a very big help to me.
The script retrieves the date from an Internet site.
The Results on the js console by me look like this
***************************************
Start Time: 1377020918626
Local Time: Tue Aug 20 2013 20:48:38 GMT+0300
Server Time: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 17:48:38 GMT
End Time: 1377020918627
Total Time: 0.001 seconds
***************************************
What I need to know is how the dates are displayed on the non English systems
Here's the Link to that script. (The Link will only be valid for a day or 2)
I really appreciate the help
If the mac scripts work I shall try working on Windows wich I can test myself.
Thanks again
Trevor
Hi Again
@Vamitul
If you have a chance this morning to try out the 3rd script (The windows one) it would be a big help.
@Hans & Uwe
Thanks for taking a look into things and I'll wait in suspense till the evening to here the full results.
From what I gather script 1 which is the really important one sounds hopeful
I'm an hour ahead of you guys (one hour later) so if you look at the time I posted that script and then I hope you can forgive me for the typos.
1) I forgot to say in the post above, please can you tell me on which version of excel you tested the scripts.
The line
+ 'save workbook as filename "' + macXlsFileName + '"file format Excel98to2004 file format\r'
Looks to me that it's not going to run on excel 2004 as I highly doubt Excel98to2004 is a valid format on excel 2004! any ideas of a format that works for 2004 and 2010? If I leave out the file format part then I think it's just going to be saved as a txt file.
The saving crash was probably caused by this problem, Sorry about that.
@Ariel
Regarding Windows No Luck here 
I seem to have a catch 22 situation.
If I make a js snippet and then do execute on the js file it replies on the fact that the default js program handler is the Windows based script host.
This is not always the case. By me the default handler is the toolkit this means that I need to find a way from the toolkit to execute the js file from the windows script host! oh dear.
Secondly The file created is not a real xls file it a txt file with a xls extension in other word does exactly the same as using js from the toolkit and saving it with an xls extension which works but give the warning "The file you are trying to open, TEST2.XLS, is in a different format than specified by the file extension. Verify that the file is not corrupted and is from a trusted source before opening the file. Do you want to open the file now?"
Doesn't look too professional However as I said above it is still a big help to just change the file extension to xls even with the nasty message. Just would be very nice to get around this problem.
Trevor
Good evening ,
lion | excel 2011
excel freezes with autofit-command. without it'll runs with above changes for the file reference.
Here the save options for workbooks in excell 2011:
save workbook as v : Saves changes into a different file.
save workbook as workbook
[filename text] : A string that indicates the name of the file to be saved. You can include a full path. If you don't, Microsoft Excel saves the file in the current folder.
[file format CSV file format/CSV Mac file format/CSV MSDos file format/CSV Windows file format/DBF3 file format/DBF4 file format/DIF file format/Excel2 file format/Excel 2 east asian file format/Excel3 file format/Excel4 file format/Excel5 file format/Excel7 file format/Excel 4 workbook file format/international add in file format/international macro file format/workbook normal file format/SYLK file format/current platform text file format/text Mac file format/text MSDos file format/text printer file format/text windows file format/HTML file format/XML spreadsheet file format/PDF file format/Excel binary file format/Excel XML file format/macro enabled XML file format/macro enabled template file format/template file format/add in file format/Excel98to2004 file format/Excel98to2004 template file format/Excel98to2004 add in file format] : Specifies the file format to use when you save the file.
[password text] : A case-sensitive string, no more than 15 characters, that indicates the protection password to be given to the file.
[write reservation password text] : A string that indicates the write-reservation password for this file. If a file is saved with the password and the password isn't supplied when the file is opened, the file is opened as read-only.
[read only recommended boolean] : Set to true to display a message when the file is opened, recommending that the file be opened as read-only.
[create backup boolean] : Set to true to create a backup file.
[access mode exclusive/no change/shared] : Specifies the access mode for the new file.
[conflict resolution local session changes/other session changes/user resolution] : Specifies who conflict resolutions will be handled.
[add to most recently used list boolean] : Set to true to add this workbook to the list of recently used files. The default value is false.
[overwrite boolean] : Set to true to automatically overwrite an existing file.
_____
You may at least add a overwrite true at the end of the save command
Cheers
Hans
a, sorry I used format 'Excel7 file format' which seems to be common
Script 3, German
***************************************
Start Time: 1377149578529
Local Time: Thu Aug 22 2013 07:32:58 GMT+0200
Server Time: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 05:32:57 GMT
End Time: 1377149578529
Total Time: 0 seconds
***************************************
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