SpreadsheetConverter Calculator

Description

SpreadsheetConverter (https://www.spreadsheetconverter.com/) turns an Excel
workbook into an interactive, calculating web page. This plugin embeds that
calculator in WordPress as a Gutenberg block — rendered inline by your
theme (no iframe), SEO-visible, and recalculating live as visitors type.

You create the calculator with the SpreadsheetConverter add-in for Excel. It
works in Excel desktop (Windows or Mac) and in Excel on the web, which is
free with a Microsoft account — so most people can use it without buying Excel.
There is a free trial — install it from
https://addin.spreadsheetconverter.com/install

Three hosting modes:

• Server form (recommended) — click Publish to the Server in Excel
  (SpreadsheetConverter Server), then Copy link, and paste it. The form
  mounts inline on your page straight from the Server — calculating live,
  saving what visitors type as records on the Server, no Server menus,
  no iframe. Any conversion flavor works; you do not need the Embeddable
  option for this mode.
• Host on this site — paste the conversion link copied from the
  SpreadsheetConverter task pane in Excel and click Host on this
  site. WordPress fetches the calculator from the SpreadsheetConverter
  cloud and stores it inside your own site
  (wp-content/uploads/ssc-embed/). Everything is then served same-origin
  — fast, no CORS, and the calculator keeps working forever, even after
  the conversion link expires.
• Link to the cloud — click Publish to Cloud in Excel, paste the
  permanent link. The calculator stays on the SpreadsheetConverter cloud;
  your page references it and is always current when you re-publish.

An offline fallback lets you upload the calculator zip manually if your
WordPress host cannot reach the SpreadsheetConverter cloud. Classic
(non-block) themes can use the [ssc_calc] shortcode.

One calculator per page. The block validates the pasted link and tells
you exactly what to do if it is the wrong kind (for example a temporary
“Test in Cloud” link).

External services

This plugin connects to SpreadsheetConverter services in three situations,
each initiated explicitly by an editor — never on a public page view in
self-host mode:

1. Host on this site — when an editor clicks the button, the WordPress
   server downloads the calculator bundle from the conversion link’s host
   (*.spreadsheetconverter.com). The pasted URL (containing the
   conversion job id) is the only data sent.
2. Link to the cloud — the page embeds the calculator directly from
   the SpreadsheetConverter hosting cloud (*.spreadsheethosting.com);
   visitors’ browsers request the calculator files from that host. When
   configuring the block, the WordPress server fetches the published
   calculator’s index page once to read its name.
3. Server form — the page embeds the form directly from
   SpreadsheetConverter Server (server.spreadsheetconverter.com);
   visitors’ browsers request the form and its assets from that host, and
   what a visitor types into the form is saved as a record on the Server
   (that is the product: a saving form). Nothing is fetched by your
   WordPress server in this mode.

Both services are provided by Framtidsforum I&M AB (SpreadsheetConverter).
Terms of use: https://www.spreadsheetconverter.com/terms-of-use/
Privacy policy: https://www.spreadsheetconverter.com/privacy-policy/

Getting started

Part 1 — Convert your spreadsheet (in Excel)

You need the SpreadsheetConverter add-in for Excel to convert your workbook. It
runs in Excel desktop (Windows or Mac) or in Excel on the web (free with a
Microsoft account — no need to buy Excel). Install it (free trial) from
https://addin.spreadsheetconverter.com/install

1. Start Excel and open your workbook — e.g. mortgage-calculator.xlsx.
2. Open the SpreadsheetConverter task pane (Home ribbon →
   SpreadsheetConverter).
3. Sign in if prompted (required to convert).
4. Press Convert. For the recommended Server mode any flavor is fine —
   the Server compiles the workbook itself. For Host on this site or
   Link to the cloud you must select Flavor = HTML and tick the
   Embeddable checkbox first — those two modes embed the converted bundle,
   and only an Embeddable HTML conversion produces it. The spreadsheet
   becomes an interactive web calculator (a few seconds).
5. Get the link to paste into WordPress. On the green Converted card:
   • Recommended: press Publish to the Server, then Copy link on
     the Published to the Server card — a permanent link to your form on
     SpreadsheetConverter Server (visitors’ entries are saved as records
     there).
   • To host it on your own WordPress site: under ▸ More options →
     WordPress, press Copy link — the short-lived conversion link (use
     it within a few minutes).
   • To link to the SpreadsheetConverter cloud instead: under Classic
     cloud, press Publish to cloud, then copy the permanent link. Only a
     permanent Publish-to-cloud link works for cloud-linking — a temporary
     “Test in cloud” link (its address contains /tmp/) is rejected by the
     block.
   • In every case you paste the whole link and the block double-checks
     it. Nothing is downloaded to your computer.

Part 2 — Add it to your WordPress page

1. Open your WordPress page for editing (Pages → Add New). You are
   already signed in to WordPress here — that is why you never type a
   password into Excel.
2. Add the SpreadsheetConverter block (＋ → “SpreadsheetConverter
   Calculator”).
3. Paste your link. The block recognizes the link type and offers the
   matching option:
   • Server form link (…/forms/your-form, a record link
     …/forms/your-form/17, or the …/embed.html address itself) →
     Embed from the Server (recommended). Click it. The form mounts
     inline straight from the Server — no Server header, menu or records
     row, just the form, styled by your theme.
   • Conversion link → Host on this site. Click it.
     WordPress fetches your calculator and stores it inside your own site.
   • Publish-to-Cloud link → Link to the cloud. The calculator stays
     on the cloud; your page references it.
   • Temporary “Test in Cloud” link → the block shows: “This is a
     temporary test link — click Publish to Cloud in Excel for a permanent
     one.”
   • A Server link that is not a form (a Records list, a Properties page,
     a private link) → “Paste the form’s own link — the address ‘Open
     your form’ opens in Excel (…/forms/your-form). Records lists,
     Properties pages and private links can’t be embedded.”
   • Anything unrecognized → “That doesn’t look like a
     SpreadsheetConverter link — copy it again from the Excel panel.”
4. See the live preview inside the editor — no grey iframe,
   theme-styled, calculates live.
5. Press Publish (the WordPress button). The page goes live.
6. View your live page. It calculates, validates, moves between
   sheets, and Submit works. On a Server form, what a visitor types is
   saved to the Server exactly as on the Server’s own page: a small save
   status sits at the top of the form, action buttons show their outcome
   in the page, and you find the records under Records on the Server.

Server forms — notes and limits

• One calculator per page (all modes; the calculator is page-global).
• Classic themes:
  [ssc_calc token=”https://server.spreadsheetconverter.com/t/acme/forms/order”].
• Updating later: re-publish to the Server — your page mounts the new
  version on reload; nothing to change in WordPress.
• Returning visitors: in most browsers a visitor who comes back to your
  page is recognized again (the Server keeps their identity in a partitioned
  cookie) and continues with their earlier entry. A browser that refuses
  partitioned cookies starts a fresh entry instead — the earlier one stays
  safe on the Server.
• No sign-in inside the mount: a members-only form shows the Server’s
  refusal in the save status with a link to sign in on the Server’s own
  page.
• Forms published before this release: re-publish once so images inside
  the form and returning-visitor recognition work in the mount (both ride a
  per-form file that updates on publish).
• Your site sends its own Content-Security-Policy? Allow
  https://server.spreadsheetconverter.com in script-src, style-src,
  img-src and connect-src — the same four the cloud-link mode needs for
  spreadsheethosting. WordPress itself sends no CSP by default.
• Troubleshooting: open …/forms/your-form/embed.html directly in a
  browser. If it works there but not on your page, the issue is your page’s
  CSP, a plugin stripping the custom element, or a theme script clashing
  with a global the calculator uses.