Access to data in a file created by a first application is provided to other applications without the need for use of the first application. A request is received from the other application for a document in the file. The document is retrieved in XML from using a specially developed database. Sections in the document may be expanded by retrieving content in HTML form from the file and inserting into the retrieval document. Data for attachments, image tags, and iframe links is obtained and inserted into the document. A complex XML object is created containing the entire expanded document. The object is converted into a SOAP message according to a complex set of rules and sent back to the requesting application over a communication link using any transmission protocol such as HTTP or HTTPS.