Java EE (Java Enterprise Edition) General Discussion

I'm running TOMCAT locally on my PC (running Windows2000) for a JSP web (test) application. I'm trying to read and EXCEL or POWERPOINT file into the browser through a JSP page link (a link to the files). The output is coming out all scrambled (almost like ASCII code or something), where it seems like the applications are not firing up. However, an MSWord file shows up fine. So I go to the WEB.XML file in the TOMCAT\CONF folder and notice that a MIME type has been set up for MSWord and not the other two. I set one up for EXCEL and POWERPOINT but the XLS or PPT files still don't work. So, just for kicks, I comment out the MSWord MIME definition but the MSWord file still worked!!! I can't figure out what's going on here. I'm stopping and starting the TOMCAT service each time I make changes to the WEB.XML file, but it seems like none of the changes are taking affect.

Can anyone out there tell me what I might be doing wrong or where to look for an answer???

Thanks,
Dave