In my web application there is a possibility to download an Excel file that gets generated on the fly. That file has a pivot table.
Now when I download it with chrome, it only gives me the “save as” option.
Firefox does give me the “open with …” option. I choose “open with Excel” and it works perfectly!
With IE8 there is an “open” option too. When I click “open” it just simply gives an error (see: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/forum/ie8-windows_other/internet-explorer-and-excel-pivot-tables-trouble/dba6292f-3e67-41f0-937d-d92ddc339df7)
It has something to do with IE changing the name of the tempfile to originalfilename[1].
I solved it by putting the file in a zip. That way I can choose “open zip” which will list the xml file and by double clicking it, the file will open perfectly without having the excel file saved to your desktop (or downloads folder) 🙂