The invention is a software module configured for sending a pre-selected
portion of an electronic spreadsheet document to a mail client or
recipient via e-mail. The module includes a publish engine for receiving
a sender's pre-selected portion of a spreadsheet document from an
application program. The publish engine determines content in the
pre-selected portion of the document, and in response to the content of
the pre-selected portion, the publish engine changes a user interface to
correspond with the content. When the publish engine receives a command
through the user interface to send the pre-selected portion to a mail
client via electronic mail, the publish engine codes the pre-selected
portion for transmission via electronic mail. The publish engine launches
an electronic mail application program, and inserts the coded
pre-selected portion into an e-mail message. If the publish engine
detects a user command through the user interface to apply an interactive
control to the pre-selected portion, the publish engine codes an
interactive control for the pre-selected portion. The publish engine
inserts the coded interactive control into the e-mail message with the
coded pre-selected portion so that the mail client or recipient can apply
the interactive control to the pre-selected portion. Then, the publish
engine sends the coded pre-selected portion and the coded interactive
control to the mail client or recipient via electronic mail. The mail
client or recipient can view and manipulate the pre-selected portion with
electronic spreadsheet functionality similar to that available to the
sender.