Vista - Excel / .Net: Extract a given Range into Picture or X(HT)ML?

Hello there,

Is there any -reliable- way to extract certain, given ranges in excel
files into either a picture (each) or into proper xhtml? I am asking
because I am currently automating a document transformation from
several hundred thousand xhtml datasets into a .pdf via proper xml +
xsl-fo transformation, but one of the constraints is to open all file://
links that point to .xls files to appear in the .pdf, too.

Now what we had in our old, very very flacky system was opening the
excel files one by one, select the range, use the semi-
stable .CopyPicture(...) method of excel and paste that (from the
clipboard!) into a graphic file etc etc. Which, apparently, is
bullcrap.


Now with all the xsl-fo transformation hotness, we still can use
images -or- proper xml or xhtml for that, but I am kinda lost what
else there is to do beside utilizing the clipboard for only a range of
rows/cells in a excel file without loosing the format and the actual
data.

Does anyone know any reliable, native .net excel/biff reading
libraries that could accomplish this? Or does the Office Interop
actually provide a stable solution for that kinda scenario?


Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers & thanks,
-Jörg