|
General Info
Configuring
DCOM
General
Info
Here are some useful resources for writing OLE Automation applications, particularly if they use MS Office applications:
1. If you have MSDN Library (CD or DVD) there should be a section in the contents tab named Office Developer Documentation, which is very good. Try
this first, if you have it.
2, Microsoft Office Info
3, Microsoft Office Developer Info
- Although everything looks like it is Office XP-specific, there are many good links for previous versions.
4. Microsoft Office - Office 2000 Developer Tour
5. Microsoft Office 2000 Resource Kit Journal
6. Automating Microsoft Office 97 and Microsoft Office 2000
7. INFO: Writing Automation Clients for Multiple Office Versions
8. INFO: Office Automation With Multiple Office Versions Installed
- Q292491
9. HOWTO: Find and Use Office Object Model Documentation
I also find a working knowledge of the correct VBA syntax is very helpful, regardless of the language you will finally use to build the OLE
client. Almost anything you want to do in Word or Excel can be recorded using the macro
recorder and used to shape your final code. Use the following to get started:
1. Open an Excel workbook or Word Doc.
2. Start the Macro Recorder (Tools Menu-> Macro-> Record Macro).
3. Do what you want to automate in Word or Excel.
4. When finished recording, turn off the recorder (Tools Menu-> Macro-> Stop Recording).
5. Open VBA (Alt-F11) and study the macro to determine what objects and syntax are used.
6. Use the Object Browser (VBA View Menu - Object Browser or F2) to look at the methods and properties associated.
7. Develop code to do it the way you want.
As well as the links above, to create and manipulate an Object in VC++, see the following VC++ OLE client sample
progams: AUTODRV and CONTAINER
Please read the next section carefully. It contains a wealth of
information.
Office Automation
Automation (formerly known as OLE Automation) is the programmatic
manipulation of any program or component based on certain rules
following the Component Object Model (COM). Automation was first
pioneered and developed by Visual Basic and Office as a way to allow
developers to extend and control the Office environment both internally
and externally.
Key
terms and concepts:
Automation client - any piece of
code that creates and calls an instance of a COM server that exposes an
"object model."
Object models - an arrangement of
classes that expose functionality through various properties and methods
and enable programmers to control a product.
Object - a particular instance of
one of these classes, whose properties and methods
comprise its interface. The object model for each Office application is
different, and must be learned before Automation code can be written.
For information about how you can use object model documentation
when developing an Automation client, see Find
and Use Office Object Model Documentation (Q222101).
See also: Automating Microsoft Office
From External Clients
Special Note: INFO: Considerations for Server-Side
Automation of Office (Q257757) (Server-side automation of MS
Office not recommended or supported)
Microsoft Office 97 and Office 2000 Object Models
Microsoft
Office 97 Object Model Guide
Microsoft
Office 2000 Developer
Microsoft
Office 2000/Visual Basic Programmer's Guide
Microsoft Office XP Object Models
Microsoft
Access 2002 Object Model Map
Microsoft
Excel 2002 Object Model Map
Microsoft
FrontPage 2002 Object Model Map
Microsoft
Outlook 2002 Object Model MapMicrosoft
PowerPoint 2002 Object Model Map
Microsoft
Word 2002 Object Model Map
Additional Resources
While some
of the following documentation was written explicitly for the VBA developer, the
methods and examples used will often apply to external clients as well.
Automation
Programmer's Reference
Automation
Glossary
Microsoft
Office 97 Automation Help File Available (Q167223)
Microsoft
Office 2000 Automation Help File Available (Q260410)
Visual Basic -
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the differences between early binding and
late binding?
Binding refers to how your application connects to an Automation
server. There are two common methods: early binding and late binding.
The method you should use depends on your application design and
objectives. For additional information, see INFO:
Using Early Binding and Late Binding in Automation (Q245115).
Should I package and distribute the Office
application's object library (.olb) file with my application?
You should not distribute the object library of the Office
application you are automating. Redistribution of the object library is
not necessary since it is automatically installed with the Office
application on the client machine. For more information, see PRB:
Visual Basic Package & Deployment Wizard - Includes Office OLB Files
in Setup List (Q249843).
I get an Automation error while running my code. How
can I find out what the error number means?
Automation errors can be difficult to diagnose. They are often raised
with no meaningful text description. To find a matching description for
common errors, check INFO:
Translating Automation Errors for VB/VBA (Q186063). If the error is
returned while automating Microsoft Word, you can also use FILE:
WRD97ERR.DOC Contains a List of Word 97 Automation Errors (Q244491).
When I try to create a new instance of an Office
application from Visual Basic, I get a run-time error 429. Why?
An error 429 means that an Automation server could not be started or
your client could not create a connection. There are several factors
that may cause this error. To resolve it, look at the suggestions
presented in INFO:
Troubleshooting Error 429 When Automating Office Applications (Q244264).
If the problem only occurs on a computer running Windows NT, you should
also check BUG:
COM/OLE Server Fails to Start on Windows NT 4.0 (Q185126).
I have code that automates Office. It works the
first time the code is run, but fails on subsequent calls. Why?
When you are automating Office and have a reference set to the type
library for the Office application, you may unintentionally be using
something called an "unqualified reference" in your code. This
occurs when you call a method or property in the type library without
qualifying the function with an explicit object. For more information,
see PRB:
Automation Error Calling Unqualified Method or Property (Q189618)
and PRB:
Excel Automation Fails Second Time Code Runs (Q178510).
I want to insert an Office document directly into my
Visual Basic form. How can I do this?
Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint® and Microsoft Word support
both Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) and ActiveX Document
containment. If you want to "host" an Office document in
Visual Basic, you can use the OLE Container control and OLE as described
in HOWTO:
Embed and Automate Office Documents with Visual Basic (Q242243). You
can also use the WebBrowser control included with Microsoft Internet
Explorer to provide basic ActiveX Document containment. For an example,
see HOWTO:
Use the WebBrowser Control to Open an Office Document (Q243058).
My Automation client for an Office application runs
without error except when I run my client from an NT service. Why?
Microsoft Office is designed for use on client systems as end-user
products and has not been optimized to run from Windows NT Services.
Automating an Office application from a service is not recommended or
supported. For details on problems that you might encounter automating
an Office application from a service and common causes of those
problems, please see INFO:
Considerations for Server-Side Automation of Office (Q257757).
How can I determine the window handle for the Office
application I am automating?
The object models for most Microsoft Office applications do not
expose properties for retrieving the application window handles. To
determine the window handle of an Office application that you are
automating, use the FindWindow API function with the class name for the
application's top-most window. If the application can have multiple
instances running simultaneously, you may need to code for this scenario
so that you retrieve the correct window handle. The following article
describes techniques for retrieving the window handle for both single
and multiple instance applications: HOWTO:
Obtain the Window Handle for an Office Automation Server (Q258511).
Visual Basic -
Information and Sample Code
This section contains information and sample code for Automation of
Office applications using Visual Basic. This information is organized into several categories:
- Visual Basic concepts for the Automation developer
- Concepts that are common to all Office Automation servers
- Information and code for each Office application
Visual Basic Concepts
Using
Early Binding and Late Binding in Automation (Q245115)
Variable
Not Defined Error Message When Using a Constant (Q179027)
Description
of VB 6.0 Run Time and OLE Automation Files (Q190130)
Handle
OLE Automation Server Timeout and Synchronization (Q138066)
Concepts That Apply to All Office Automation Servers
GetObject
and CreateObject Behavior of Office Automation Servers (Q288902)
Built-in
Constants in Visual Basic for Applications (Q112671)
Obtain
Built-In Constant Values for an Office Application (Q239930)
How
to Run Macros in Other Office Programs (Q177760)
Modifying
Menus and Toolbars
Determine
the Path for an Office Application (Q240794)
Dismiss
a Dialog Box Displayed by an Office Application with Visual Basic
(Q259971)
Microsoft Excel Automation
Automate
Excel from Visual Basic (Q219151)
Methods
for Transferring Data to Excel from Visual Basic (Q247412)
EXCELlent
Office Adventures (MSDN Online Article)
EXCELlent
Office Adventures Part 2 (MSDN Online Article)
ExcelADO
Demonstrates How to Use ADO to Read and Write Data in Excel Workbooks
(Q278973)
Use
ADO and ADOX with Excel Data from Visual Basic or VBA (Q257819)
Transfer
Data from an ADO Recordset to Excel with Automation (Q246335)
Create
Excel Chart w/OLE Automation from Visual Basic (Q142387)
Convert
(row,col) Indices into Excel-Style A1:C1 Strings (Q198144)
Call
Microsoft Excel Macros That Take Parameters (Q153307)
Install
an Excel Add-in (XLA or XLL) with Automation (Q280290)
Dynamically
Add and Run a VBA Macro from Visual Basic (Q219905)
Create
an Excel Histogram by Using Automation and Analysis ToolPak (Q270844)
Microsoft Word Automation
How
to Use (OLE) Automation with Word (Q184974)
Word
in the Office (MSDN Online Article)
One
More Word (MSDN Online Article)
Automate
Word 2002 with Visual Basic to Create a Mail Merge (Q285332)
Word
2002 MailMerge Event Code Demonstration (Q285333)
Automate
Microsoft Word to Perform Mail Merge from Visual Basic (Q220607)
Automate
Word to Perform a Client-Side Mail Merge Using XML From SQL Server
(Q285176)
Determine
the Number of Merged Records Before Executing a Mail Merge (Q258523)
Automate
Word from Visual Basic to Create a Mail Merge for Mailing Labels
(Q258512)
Prompted
To Select a Data Source Appears While Automating Word 2002 Mail Merge
(Q279462)
Prompt
to Select Table with Word 2002 Mail Merge Code for Excel or Access Data
Source (Q289830)
Prompt
to Save Normal.dot When Using Word as an Automation Server (Q285885)
Transfer
an ADO Recordset to a Word Table with Automation (Q261999)
Use
a VB ActiveX Component For Word Automation From Internet Explorer
(Q286023)
Automate
Word From Visual Basic or Visual Basic for Applications For Spell
Checking (Q243844)
Find
the End of a Page in a Word Document By Using Automation (Q285599)
Run
a Word 97 Macro That Requires Arguments (Q172483)
Automate
Word to Set and Retrieve Section Header/Footer Information (Q269565)
Set
Duplex Printing for Word Automation (Q230743)
ActivePrinter
Property in Word Sets System Default Printer (Q216026)
Paste
RichText Formatted String into Word with Visual Basic Automation
(Q258513)
Switching
from WordBasic
Visual
Basic Equivalents for WordBasic Commands
How
to Find the Word Startup-Path Using an External Solution (Q210860)
General
Questions and Answers About the Location of Word 2000 Templates
(Q210884)
Limited
Programmatic Access to Word 2002 Discontiguous Selections (Q288424)
WRD97ERR.DOC
Contains a List of Word 97 Automation Errors (Q244491)
Microsoft PowerPoint Automation
Automate
PowerPoint Using Visual Basic (Q222929)
Automation
of PowerPoint 97 and PowerPoint 2000 Viewers (Q265385)
Microsoft Access Automation
Using
Microsoft Access as an Automation Server (Q147816)
How
to Use Automation to Print Microsoft Access Reports (Q145707)
ImportText.exe
Importing Text into Access with ADO/RDO/DAO/Filesys/Automation (Q230265)
Automate
a Secured Access Database Using Visual Basic (Q192919)
How
to Open a Password-Protected Database Through Automation (Q235422)
Access
2000 Object Model Breaks Binary Compatibility (Q246237)
Error
2046 Calling OpenForm or OpenReport Automating Access (Q244695)
Microsoft
Access Is Visible When Started Through Automation (Q167659)
Microsoft Outlook Automation
Questions
About Custom Forms and Outlook Solutions (Q146636)
Automate
Outlook using Visual Basic (Q220595)
Use
OLE Automation with Microsoft Outlook 97 (Q170262)
How
to Automate Outlook from Another Program (Q168095)
Get
the Currently Selected Item in an Outlook Folder from Visual Basic
(Q240935)
Automation to Shared Office Components and Other
Office Applications
Automate
An Embedded MSGraph Object with Visual Basic (Q244589)
Manipulating
Command Bars and Command Bar Controls with VBA Code (Office Developer
Documentation)
Create
a Transparent Picture For Office CommandBar Buttons (Q288771)
Manipulate
Office Assistants from Visual Basic (Q173690)
Automate
Frontpage to Create a New Web and Set a Navigation Structure (Q262987)
Automation
and the Visio Object Model (Office Developer Documentation)
Automate
MapPoint 2000 from Visual Basic (Q236615)
Set
a Pushpin in MapPoint 2001 Using Automation (Q277749)
Cannot
Automate Word, Excel, or PowerPoint Viewers (Q189609)
Automation
of PowerPoint 97 and PowerPoint 2000 Viewers (Q265385)
Visual C++/MFC -
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I automate a Microsoft Office application
from Visual C++?
There are several ways you can control Office applications through
automation using Visual C++:
- Use MFC and the Visual C++ ClassWizard to generate "wrapper
classes" from the Microsoft Office type libraries.
- Use "smart pointers" created with the #import directive
from an Office type library.
- Use C/C++ to make direct calls to COM services without the
overhead of MFC or #import.
For more details, see INFO:
Using Visual C++ to Automate Office (Q238972).
Here is a tutorial on how to build an MFC Automation Client: Using MS Office in an MFC Application.
How do I attach to the running instance of an Office
application?
To automate an Office application that is already running, you can
use the GetActiveObject() API function to obtain the IDispatch pointer.
Once you have the IDispatch pointer for the running instance, you can
then call its methods and properties. For additional information, see HOWTO:
Attach to a Running Instance of an Office Application (Q238975).
How do I pass optional parameters to methods and
properties?
When you call a method that has optional parameters from Visual C++,
you cannot omit the optional parameters. Instead, if the parameter type
is a VARIANT, you can pass a special variant for arguments you intend to
omit. This VARIANT has the type VT_ERROR and a code member of
DISP_E_PARAMNOTFOUND. For more details, see HOWTO:
Passing Optional Parameters When Calling a Function (Q238981).
How do I pass a COleDispatchDriver as an argument
for a method expecting a VARIANT?
Some methods require that you pass a VARIANT that represents an
Automation object. With MFC, these objects are typically handled by
COleDispatchDriver-derived classes. To pass one of these to a method
expecting a VARIANT, you can create a new VARIANT with its vt member set
to VT_DISPATCH and its pdispVal member set to the COleDispatchDriver
class' m_lpDispatch. For more details and a sample, please see HOWTO:
Pass a COleDispatchDriver as an Argument for a Method Expecting a
VARIANT (Q253501).
How do I catch events?
Automation objects that can raise events implement a connection point
interface. Automation controllers can create "sinks" to
"connect" with an Automation object's connection point so that
it receives event notifications. Note that MFC's default implementation
of IDispatch::Invoke does not support named arguments. Therefore, with
some Automation servers—Microsoft Excel, for example—you must
provide your own implementation of IDispatch in the sink. For examples,
see HOWTO:
Catch Microsoft Word97 Application Events Using VC++ (Q183599) and HOWTO:
Catch Microsoft Excel Application Events Using VC++ (Q186427).
How do I improve the performance of my automation
code?
You can improve the performance of your Automation code in Visual C++
by using a two-dimensional variant SAFEARRAY to read and write data all
at once, and then using the clipboard to copy and paste data. For
additional information, see HOWTO:
Improving the Performance of Office Automation Code (Q238984).
What do these huge error values, such as -2147352573
or 0x80030002, mean?
While automating an Office application, you might receive a large
error value, such as -2147221494. Troubleshooting the error is greatly
facilitated by determining the exact description of the error. To obtain
a description of the error, you can use the Error Lookup utility
provided with Visual C++, call the FormatMessage() API at run-time, or
use the watch window to display the error message. These approaches are
described in INFO:
Translating Large Office Automation Error Values (Q238986).
The application I'm automating stays in memory after
my program is finished. What's happening?
If the Office application you are automating continues to reside in
memory after your Visual C++ program finishes executing, the most likely
cause is that you have not released an acquired interface. For more
information, see PRB:
Office Application Remains in Memory After Program Finishes (Q238987)
How do I access my document properties in an Office
document?
You can automate Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint with Visual C++
to retrieve and manipulate both built-in and custom document properties.
For more information and an example, see HOWTO:
Use Visual C++ to Access DocumentProperties with Automation (Q238393).
You can also retrieve document property information without
Automation and even without the need for the Office application that
created the file. Office documents are OLE compound documents that store
document properties in persistent property sets. These property sets are
managed by COM/OLE and can be retrieved using the IPropertySetStorage
and IPropertyStorage interfaces. For details, see HOWTO:
Read Compound Document Properties Directly with VC++ (Q186898) and Dsofile.exe
Lets You Edit Office Document Properties from Visual Basic and Active
Server Pages (Q224351).
How can I automate an embedded Microsoft Office
document?
To automate an embedded Office document, you must first obtain the
IDispatch pointer for the document object. Once you've obtained the
IDispatch pointer to the document object, you can automate the server by
calling the appropriate methods and properties for that server. For some
examples, see HOWTO:
Embed and Automate a Microsoft Excel Worksheet with MFC (Q184663)
and HOWTO:
Embed and Automate a Word Document with MFC (Q238611).
My Automation client for an Office application runs
without error except when I run my client from an NT service.
Microsoft Office is designed for use on client systems as end-user
products and has not been optimized to run from Windows NT Services.
Automating an Office application from a service is not recommended or
supported. For details on problems that you might encounter automating
an Office application from a service and common causes of those
problems, please see INFO:
Considerations for Server-Side Automation of Office (Q257757).
Visual C++/MFC -
Information and Sample Code
This section contains information and links to code samples for
Office Automation using Visual C++ and MFC. If you are using one of the code samples created with
a version of Office earlier than the one you are automating, you may
need to modify the code to account for new arguments of updated methods.
For more information, see the Knowledge Base article Type
Libraries for Office May Change with New Release (Q224925).
General Concepts
Create
Automation Project Using MFC and a Type Library (Q178749)
Locating
Resources to Study Automation (Q152023)
Find
the Path and Version of an Office Application from Visual C++ (Q247985)
Use
OLE Automation from a C Application Rather Than C++ (Q181473)
Create
an Automation Client Project Using ATL (Q196135)
Do
16-Bit Automation in C++ Using VC 1.52 (Q194656)
OLE/COM Concepts
Descriptions
and Workings of OLE Threading Models (Q150777)
OLE
Threads Must Dispatch Messages (Q136885)
MARSHAL.EXE:
How To Marshal Interfaces Across Apartments (Q206076)
COM
Security Frequently Asked Questions (Q158508)
TN039:
MFC/OLE Automation Implementation (MFC Technical Note)
Microsoft Excel Automation
Use
MFC to Automate Excel and Create/Format a New Workbook (Q179706)
Embed
and Automate a Microsoft Excel Worksheet with MFC (Q184663)
Use
MFC to Automate Excel and Fill a Range with an Array (Q186120)
Use
MFC to Automate Excel and Obtain an Array from a Range (Q186122)
Automate
Excel Using MFC and Worksheet Functions (Q178781)
Use
MFC to Copy a DAO Recordset to Excel With Automation (Q243394)
Use
MFC to Create a Microsoft Excel Chart (Q178783)
Catch
Microsoft Excel Application Events Using VC++ (Q186427)
Automate
Excel and Then Know the User Closed It (Q192348)
Use
MFC to Automate Excel and Navigate Worksheets (Q178782)
Automate
Using VC++ to Save Excel Worksheet as HTML File (Q199691)
Convert
Indices (row,col) into Excel-Style A1:C1 Strings (Q198112)
Automate
Excel From C++ Without Using MFC or #import (Q216686)
COMEXCEL:
Demonstrates an Automation Client Application with Compiler COM Support
Microsoft Word Automation
Automate
Microsoft Word to Perform a Mail Merge Using Visual C++ and MFC
(Q220911)
Use
MFC to Automate Word and Create a Mail Merge for Mailing Labels
(Q278260)
Use
Automation to Run a Word Macro with Arguments (Q183369)
Use
Automation to Open and Print a Word Document (Q178784)
Catch
Microsoft Word 97 Application Events Using VC++ (Q183599)
ActivePrinter
Property in Word Sets System Default Printer (Q216026)
Add
Custom Table to the Clipboard to be Pasted into Word (Q216676)
Embed
and Automate a Word Document with MFC (Q238611)
Use
WordBasic Functions in an MFC Automation Client for Word 97, Word 2000,
or Word 2002 (Q252719)
Visual
Basic Equivalents to WordBasic Functions
How
to Find the Word Startup-Path Using an External Solution (Q210860)
General
Questions and Answers About the Location of Word 2000 Templates
(Q210884)
Limited
Programmatic Access to Word 2002 Discontiguous Selections (Q288424)
WRD97ERR.DOC
Contains a List of Word 97 Automation Errors (Q244491)
Microsoft PowerPoint Automation
Automate
PowerPoint Using Visual C++ w/MFC (Q222960)
Use
MFC to Create and Show a PowerPoint Presentation (Q180616)
Creating
an MFC Automation Controller for PowerPoint (Q169505)
Automate
PowerPoint using MFC and Run a Macro (Q237554)
PowerPoint
2000 Event Demonstration Available for Download (Q254009)
Microsoft Outlook Automation
Automate
Outlook Using Visual C++/MFC (Q220600)
Send
a Message by Outlook Object Model with VC++ (Q199870)
Get
the Currently Selected Item in an Outlook Folder from Visual C++
(Q241287)
Questions
About Custom Forms and Outlook Solutions (Q146636)
Automation to Shared Office Components and Other
Office Applications
Automation
and the Visio Object Model (Office Developer Documentation)
Use
Automation to Modify the Office Menu (Q180625)
Place
A Custom Bitmap on an Office Commandbar Button (Q198522)
Manipulating
Command Bars and Command Bar Controls with VBA Code (Office Developer
Documentation)
Use
Visual C++ to Access DocumentProperties with Automation (Q238393)
Use
Automation to Retrieve Built-in Document Properties (Q179494)
Add
and Run a VBA Macro Using Automation from MFC (Q194906)
Use
MFC to Retrieve a List of Macro Names in an Office Document (Q274680)
Find
and List Access VBA Procedures By Using MFC (Q266387)
Cannot
Automate Word, Excel, or PowerPoint Viewers (Q189609)
Automation
of PowerPoint 97 and PowerPoint 2000 Viewers (Q265385)
Troubleshooting Office
Automation
As we discussed earlier, Office applications can be automated from
any client that is written in a language that can call COM objects. An
Automation call originates from an Automation client and then passes
through the COM layer before getting executed on the Automation server.
Troubleshooting a problem with Office Automation may require
troubleshooting in any one or all of these three layers:
- On the Automation client, this typically involves debugging client
code using that specific language debugger. For information and tips
on testing and debugging your applications, see Divide
and Conquer.
- In the COM layer, you should ensure that the Office Automation
server in question is properly registered and that no registry
entries are missing or corrupt.
- For the Automation server, you should make certain that the calls
you make are valid given the state of the server. A good test is to
try VBA code similar to your Automation code in the application; if
the equivalent VBA code sequence does not work when run in the
application, then there is a high probability that it will not work
from an Automation client either.
The articles listed below describe some of the common problems and
known issues you might encounter with Office Automation. The first list
of articles provides general information about troubleshooting errors or
problems that might occur with one or more Office application. The
remaining articles are categorized by the specific Office application
with which the error or problem is known to occur.
General Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
Error 429 When Automating Office Applications (Q244264)
Translating
Automation Errors for VB/VBA (Q186063)
Translating
Large Office Automation Error Values (Q238986)
GetObject
or GetActiveObject Cannot Find a Running Office Application (Q238610)
Cross-Process
COM Automation Can Hang Client Application on Win95/98 (Q216400)
Considerations
for Server-Side Automation of Office (Q257757)
Office
Application Remains in Memory After Program Finishes (Q238987)
Office
97 Automation Client Fails After Re-compilation With Office 2000 or
Office XP Type Library (Q242375)
Error
0x80020004 (-2147352572) When Setting a Property (Q175618)
COM/OLE
Server Fails to Start on Windows NT 4.0 (Q185126)
Programmatic
Access to Office XP VBA Project is Denied (Q282830)
Troubleshoot
"Member Not Found" 0x80020003 Error (Q172108)
Adding
Property in ClassWizard Changes DISPIDS for Methods (Q179691)
Microsoft Excel
Excel
Automation Fails Second Time Code Runs (Q178510)
Limitations
of Passing Arrays to Excel Using Automation (Q177991)
Microsoft
Excel Does Not Repaint Properly With Automation (Q187745)
Changes
Made to Excel CommandBars Through Automation Are Not Saved (Q241652)
Microsoft Word
WRD97ERR.DOC
Contains a List of Word 97 Automation Errors (Q244491)
Automation
Error 8001010A when Automating Word 2000 (Q246018)
Automation
Error Calling Unqualified Method or Property (Q189618)
Automation
Client Receives Error or Crashes Calling Microsoft Word's Find Object
(Q292744)
Corrupt
Normal.dot Causes Errors When Automating Word (Q247028)
Error
Message Using WordMail: "This method or property is not
available" (Q237338)
Starting
Word Manually Uses Same Instance as Automation (Q188546)
MoveDown
Method Behaves Incorrectly When Word is Hidden (Q235876)
Word
Fails to Save Custom Document Properties (Q195425)
Microsoft Access
Access
2000 Object Model Breaks Binary Compatibility (Q246237)
Office Web Solutions
Integrating Microsoft Office with the Web is quickly becoming a
necessity. As illustrated in this section, there are a variety of
approaches you can use to incorporate Office with the Web. You can have
client-side solutions that use a scripting language like VBScript or
JScript or server-side solutions that use Active Server Pages (ASP).
And, in many situations, you might even use both. A common scenario is
to generate data server-side and present the data client-side using
Office as the display mechanism.
You can use client-side script to automate an Office application to
generate documents on the fly for users to view and edit. While
client-side Automation of Office is often a good solution, Automation of
Office on the server is not recommended. Office applications are not
lightweight Automation servers and, when used in a server-side solution,
can present issues involving scalability and problems with permissions.
For the server, this section presents some alternatives to Automation
for document creation and manipulation. We recommend you consider all
alternatives to Automation for your server solutions whenever possible.
The Office Web components included with Microsoft Office 2000 and
Microsoft Office XP can provide an alternative to Automation and deliver
a lightweight solution tailored for the Web. The Office Web Components
enable you to incorporate many of Office's rich data analysis and
reporting features in your Web solutions.
The following section provides information for integrating Office
with your Web solutions. For some additional resources and references,
see Web
Solutions Resources.
Office on the Web
Server - Frequently Asked Questions
When I automate an Office application from ASP, I
get the error "Cannot launch out of process component."
By default, Internet Information Server (IIS) does not allow you to
start out of process servers from Active Server Pages (ASP). To enable
this, you must change the value of the AspAllowOutOfProcComponents
metabase property to True. For more information, please see Cannot
Launch Out of Process Component Under IIS 4 (Q184682).
When I automate Microsoft Word from ASP, I get an
error that states "Could Not Open Macro Storage."
You are running Word under the context of a user that does not have
its registry hive loaded. Word requires that a "user hive" be
loaded for it to run correctly. For more information, please see PRB:
Error 800A175D - Could Not Open Macro Storage (Q224338).
When I navigate to an Office document with Office
2000 I get an authentication dialog. I do not have this problem with
Office 97. What has changed?
Office 97 applications open documents from a Web server as read-only.
In contrast, Office 2000 applications attempt to open documents as
read-write. Therefore, if the client has Office 2000 installed and does
not have administrative privileges on the Web server, the client may
receive the authentication dialog when trying to open an Office document
from a Web server. For more information, please see OFF2000:
User Prompted for Password When Opening Office Documents in Browser
(Q225234).
I'm automating an Office application from ASP, but I
get an error when I try to print.
Depending on which user context the Office application is running
under, different information is loaded into that user's hive. By
default, Office applications run under the SYSTEM account when
instantiated from ASP. The SYSTEM account does not have any printers set
up in the registry; therefore, when the Office application prints, you
receive an error. For more information, please see PRB:
COM Objects Fail to Print When Called From ASP (Q184291).
When I automate Office applications from IIS or MTS
and an error occurs, I cannot shut down those applications. When I try
to end the process in Task Manager, I receive an "Access
Denied" error.
Windows NT security does not allow a user to shut down applications
that have been started under the context of another user. The only way
to shut those programs down is to use the KILL utility that is included
with the Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit. For more information, please see Cannot
End Service Processes with Task Manager (Q155075) and PRB:
Excel Automation Fails Second Time Code Runs (Q178510).
When I use Response.Redirect to redirect the client
to a Word document or Excel workbook, the application loads but then
displays a blank document or workbook.
Office 97 applications open documents from a Web server as read-only.
In contrast, Office 2000 applications attempt to open documents as
read-write. Therefore, if the client has Office 2000 installed and does
not have administrative privileges on the Web server, the Office 2000
application opens and displays the Active Server Page instead of
redirecting the client to the Office document as expected. For more
information, please see Word
2000 and Excel 2000 Do Not Redirect Correctly When Using
Response.Redirect (Q247318).
ASP - Server-Side
Solutions
Developers often request information about ways of manipulating
existing documents or creating new documents on the Web server. This
section describes the options available to you as well as information
about the pros and cons of various approaches that you might consider.
Office Automation on the Web Server
Microsoft does not currently recommend, and does not support,
Automation of Microsoft Office applications from Internet Information
Services (IIS), Microsoft Transaction Server, a DCOM server, or a
Microsoft Windows NT service because the applications may exhibit
unstable behavior and/or deadlock when run under an unattended,
non-interactive account. For details, please see Considerations
for Server-Side Automation of Office (Q257757).
Despite this recommendation, if you have no other option but to
automate an Office application on the server, there are several
configuration choices for the server that you can consider:
Configure
Office Applications To Run Under the Interactive User Account (Q288366)
Configure
Office Applications To Run Under a Specific User Account (Q288367)
Configure
Office Application for Automation From a COM+/MTS Package (Q288368)
The following list contains known problems you may encounter when
automating an Office application on a Web server:
COM
Objects Fail to Print When Called From ASP (Q184291)
Error
800A175D - Could Not Open Macro Storage (Q224338)
Cannot
Launch Out of Process Component Under IIS 4 (Q184682)
Access
2000 Quit Method Leaves Access Running (Q246953)
Working with Office Documents on the Web Server
As previously discussed, you should consider alternatives to
Automation for creating or manipulating Office documents on the Web
server when alternatives exist. Server solutions that do not involve
Automation will be more scalable, more robust and less problematic.
Different solutions can be used for the different types of Office
documents; for example, while working with Excel workbooks, you could
use ADO or XML/HTML or while working with Word documents you might take
advantage of the benefits that the text-based RTF format has to offer.
The following list provides resources for information and sample code
that you can use to create Office documents on the server without
Automation.
Display
ASP Results Using Excel in IE with MIME Types (Q199841)
Query
and Update Excel Data Using ADO From ASP (Q195951)
Format
Cell Data When You Are Creating an Excel File With an Active Server
Pages Page (Q260239)
Format
an Excel Workbook While Streaming MIME Content (Q271572)
ExcelADO
Demonstrates How to Use ADO to Read and Write Data in Excel Workbooks
(Q278973)
Use
ADO and ADOX with Excel Data from Visual Basic or VBA (Q257819)
Use
Visual Basic or ASP to Create an XML Spreadsheet for Excel 2002
(Q285891)
Use
ASP to Build Spreadsheet XML for Client-Side Display (Q288130)
Use
ASP to Generate a Rich Text Format (RTF) Document to Stream to Microsoft
Word (Q270906)
Automate
Word to Perform a Client-Side Mail Merge Using XML from SQL Server
(Q285176)
Troubleshooting
User
Prompted for Password When Opening Office Documents in Browser (Q225234)
Word
2000 and Excel 2000 Display ASP Source When Using MIME Type to Stream
Data (Q266263)
Word
2000 and Excel 2000 Do Not Redirect Correctly When Using
Response.Redirect (Q247318)
ASP
Session Variables Empty When Office 2000 MIME Types Are Streamed with
Internet Explorer (Q264143)
Additional Resources
Read
and Display Binary Data in ASP (Q193998)
Use
the ADODB.Stream Object to Send Binary Files to the Browser through ASP
(Q276488)
Security
Ramifications for IIS Applications (Q158229)
COM
Security Frequently Asked Questions (Q158508)
COM
Servers Activation and NT Windows Stations (Q169321)
Client-Side Solutions
Client-side script embedded in the HTML of your Web pages can be used
to automate Office applications from a client's browser. Given the
interactive nature of Office applications, Automation of Office from
client-side script is preferable to server-side scripting.
Office Automation servers, like Excel and Word, are not marked as safe
for scripting. Therefore, you should ensure that clients running the
script on your Web page have security settings that allow Automation of
Office applications from client side scripts.
Note For security purposes,
browser security settings cannot be changed with client-side script.
Browser security settings are customizable by the user and can vary
between clients.
The following articles provide information and code samples for using
client-side script to automate an Office application. If the list below
does not provide a specific code sample you need, then you might wish to
consult the Visual Basic and C++/MFC sections presented earlier in this
article. Although the languages are syntactically different, many of the
same principles and concepts will still apply.
VBScript
Automating
Excel From Client-Side VBScript (Q198703)
Excel
Automation from VBScript Gives Type Library Error (Q234675)
CreateObject
in VBScript (Q183284)
Launch
Word from Internet Explorer (Q178222)
Use
a VB ActiveX Component For Word Automation From Internet Explorer
(Q286023)
Cannot
Call GetObject from Script in IE to Access Running Object (Q239470)
CreateObject
Fails from Client-Side Scripts (Q195826)
JScript
Automate
Excel from an HTML Web Page Using Jscript (Q234774)
Excel
Does Not Shut Down After Calling the Quit Method When Automating from
JScript (Q266088)
Office Web Components
Office 2000 introduced the Office Web Components (OWC),
a collection of COM controls designed to bring interactive spreadsheet
modeling, database reporting, and data visualization to a number of
control containers. The OWC library contains four principal components:
Spreadsheet, Chart, PivotTable, and Data Source. The components sport
many of the most popular and commonly used features found in Excel and
Access:
- The Spreadsheet component provides a recalculation engine, a full
function library, and a simple worksheet user interface.
- The Chart component, as its name implies, enables you to chart
data from a variety of sources.
- The PivotTable component allows users to sort, group, filter,
outline, and manipulate data stored in either traditional or
multidimensional data sources.
- The Data Source component provides the other components with a way
to get data. Of the four Office Web components, the Data Source
component is the only one that does not have a UI.
While the Office Web Components can be hosted in a variety of
containers such as Visual Basic forms or VBA Userforms, they are
designed to work best on HTML Web pages in the browser. The Office Web
Components are fully programmable and can be used as in-memory objects.
Using a component in-memory can be particularly useful when you are
developing solutions that run server-side to generate Office XML or
static representations of charts or pivot tables.
Office 2000 Web Components - Resources and
References
For an introduction to the Office 2000 Web components and references
for the object model, the following resources are most helpful:
Programming Microsoft Office 2000 Web Components by Dave Stearns
(MSPress Book)
Programming
Microsoft Office 2000 Web Components Comments and Corrections (Q240265)
Microsoft
Office 2000 Web Components Basics (Technical Article)
Developing
Solutions with the Office 2000 Web Components (WebCast)
Working
with the Office Web Components (Programmer's Guide)
Microsoft
Office 2000 Web Components Object Models
Office 2000 Web Components - Script Samples Download
OWebComp.exe is a self-extracting executable file that contains a
series of scripting samples that demonstrate the features and usage of
the Microsoft Office 2000 Web Components. The samples use VBScript and
Active Server Pages (ASP) and demonstrate basic programmability for the
Spreadsheet, PivotTable and Chart components.
OWebComp.exe
Contains Scripting Samples for the Office 2000 Web Components (Q258187)
The remaining sections for the Office 2000 Web Components reference
articles about licensing and deployment. Links are also provided to more
sample code for the Chart, PivotTable and Spreadsheet components.
Office 2000 Web Components - Licensing and
Deployment
Licensing
the Office 2000 Web Components and Office Server Extensions (Q243006)
How
to Deploy the Web Components Over an Intranet (Q231419)
Office
Web Components Cannot Be Installed Over the Internet (Q231420)
Web
Components May Not Function Properly in Netscape Navigator with the
NCompass ScriptActive Plugin (Q231094)
Office
Web Components Display Cross-Domain Warning (Q258510)
Use
the Office DataSource Component with RDS to Avoid Cross-Domain Warnings
(Q268836)
Office 2000 Web Components - The Chart Component
Use
the Chart Web Component with Visual Basic (Q235885)
Create
a Combination Chart with the Chart Web Component (Q240263)
Use
VBScript to Bind a Chart to a Spreadsheet Component (Q243192)
Use
Server-Side Charting to Generate Charts Dynamically (Q244049)
CHARTGIF.EXE
Demonstrates Streaming an Office Web Chart GIF to the Browser (Q264096)
Use
XML Data with the Chart Component (Q249805)
Chart
MDX Results with the Office 2000 Chart Component (Q279254)
Create
Null (or Omitted) Data Points with the Office Chart Component (Q286317)
"Already
Exists" Error Message Occurs When You Use AddNew Method of
RecordsetDef with DataSource Control (Q256629)
Axis
Minimum and Maximum Properties Return Incorrect Values in OnLoad Event
(Q256627)
Office
2000 Web Chart Prints Incorrectly from Internet Explorer 5.0 (Q250556)
XML
as the API (Web Workshop)
Office 2000 Web Components - The Spreadsheet
Component
Use
the Spreadsheet Web Component with Visual Basic (Q235883)
Calculation
Differences Between the Office Spreadsheet and Excel (Q216578)
Techniques
for Loading and Retrieving Data with the Spreadsheet Web Component
(Q253913)
Setting
ReturnValue to False Does Not Cancel Spreadsheet Event (Q240902)
Using
Worksheet Functions in Web Page Scripts (Technical Article)
Use
Custom Functions with the Spreadsheet Component (Q248822)
HTMLData
Property Does Not Return Spreadsheet Values (Q248169)
Inconsistent
Results When Calling FreezePanes in OnLoad Event of Window (Q256625)
Long
Delay When You Navigate Away from a Web Page That Contains Office
Spreadsheet Component (Q276249)
Office 2000 Web Components - The PivotTable
Component
Use
the PivotTable Office Web Component with VB (Q235542)
How
to Test for a Successful PivotTable Connection (Q222556)
OWCHELPR.EXE
Demonstrates Automation to Excel for Printing a PivotTable Component on
a Web Page (Q262827)
Extract
Cell Aggregate Values From the Office 2000 PivotTable Component
(Q286210)
MaxHeight/MaxWidth
Properties of PivotTable Should Be Less Than 32000 (Q271368)
With respect to the Office Web Components, Office XP provides many
enhancements to both the interactive features and programmability. This
list names just a handful of new Office XP features:
- All the components have customizable toolbars, menus and tooltips.
- The Chart component sports an improved Chart Wizard and now
enables you to have custom drawings, special fill effects and
timescales on your charts.
- The Spreadsheet component now supports data binding, multiple
worksheets and named ranges.
- The PivotTable component offers more functions for calculating
totals, the ability to update data, and hyperlink support.
The OWC licensing model and deployment has changed significantly for
Office XP. With Office 2000, an Office license is required to install
the OWC. Additionally, the OWC could only be deployed by way of a file
share. Both of these requirements limited OWC use and deployment to an
intranet environment. Office XP overcomes theses limitations. The Office
XP Web Components can be deployed over the Internet and an Office XP
license is not required at the target.
Enhancements to the features for the Office XP Web Components
necessitated changes to the OWC object model. In some areas, the changes
to the object model are significant. You may find that code that worked
with an Office 2000 component no longer works with the Office XP version
of that component or that methods/properties in the 2000 object model
have been replaced with different methods/properties in the XP object
model. Or, you may find that your code gives different results for
Office XP than it did for Office 2000. For this reason, you should not
assume that your Office 2000 Web Component code is forward compatible
with Office XP without thorough testing.
The following links provide information and sample code for the
Office XP Chart, Spreadsheet and PivotTable components.
Office XP Web Components
General
Information About Licensing and Using Office XP Web Components (Q288729)
Microsoft
Office XP Web Components Object Models
Microsoft
Office XP Web Components Samples
Customizing
the Menus and Toolbars in the Microsoft Office Web Components
Office XP Web Components - The Chart Component
Create
a Combination Chart Using the Office XP Chart Component (Q286211)
Change
Label Orientation with the Office XP Chart Component (Q287666)
Binding
the Office XP Chart Component to a Data Source (Q288907)
Bind
the Office XP Chart Component to a PivotTable (Q286320)
Use
An XML Data Source with the Office XP Chart Component (Q286212)
Using
Timescale Axes With The Office XP Chart Component (Q289288)
Office
XP Chart Component May Not Automatically Timescale (Q286319)
Create
Null (or Omitted) Data Points with the Office Chart Component (Q286317)
Use
Custom Layout and Drawing with the Office XP Chart Component (Q290348)
Using
Format Maps to Conditionally Format Data Points and Data Series (MSDN
Technical Article)
Use
the Office XP Chart Component to Create Static Charts with ASP (Q286277)
Create
an Interactive Office XP Chart Server-Side Using ASP (Q286278)
Data
Bound Office XP Chart Prints Incorrectly From Internet Explorer 5.0
(Q286323)
Custom
Layout And Drawings in Office XP Chart Do Not Print In Internet Explorer
5 (Q291128)
Office XP Web Components - The Spreadsheet Component
Script
the Office XP Spreadsheet Component on a Web Page (Q286209)
Use
ASP to Build Spreadsheet XML for Client-Side Display (Q288130)
Client-Side
Spreadsheet Component Fails to Import Data From URL (Q286316)
Setting
Range.Value of Office Spreadsheet to a JScript Array Ignores Blank
Entries (Q286315)
Office XP Web Components - The PivotTable Component
Extract
Cell Aggregate Values From the Office XP PivotTable Component (Q294782)
Use
ASP to Create an Office XP PivotTable and Display the Results as HTML
(Q294798)
HTML: A Native Office File Format
Office 2000 Applications introduced support for HTML as a native file
format. To illustrate, you can save a Word 2000 document as an HTML file
in the same manner you might save it as a .doc file; there are no
add-ins and no wizards needed for the conversion. The document can be
viewed in the browser and later opened in Word just as if you had saved
it in the .doc binary format. The ability for Office applications to
transfer documents from the browser to the application, while
maintaining the document's structure and features, is called round-tripping.
With round-tripping, the data needed to work with documents in their
native applications is not lost when the document is published to the
Web. For details on the specifications Office applications use for
publishing documents to the Web, see Microsoft
Office 2000 HTML/XML Reference. The following articles provide
additional information for using HTML in your Office solutions:
Add
HTML Code To The Clipboard Using Visual Basic (Q274326)
Add
HTML Code to the Clipboard by Using Visual C++ (Q274308)
Working
with Office HTML (MSDN Online Article)
Office XP and XML
Office XP applications introduce support for XML. With Office XP, you
can export or import data from Excel, Access or the Office Web
components in an XML format. XML support in Office XP not only enhances
interoperability of Office applications with other applications but also
exposes the web developer with new opportunities for integrating Office
with their Web solutions.
Learning XML(Tutorials)
Federal XSL Developer's Guide (draft)
Microsoft
Excel 2002 and XML (Q288215)
Use
ASP to Build Spreadsheet XML for Client-Side Display (Q288130)
Use
XSL to Transform Excel XML Spreadsheet for Server-Side Use (Q278976)
Office Add-ins and
Components
Add-ins enable you to extend the capabilities of Office applications
by adding custom commands and specialized features that meet a specific
business need or task. Office applications support VBA-style add-ins
that you can create with the VBA Editor included in each application.
For example, you can use the VBA Editor to create Excel add-ins (xla),
Word add-ins (dot), or PowerPoint add-ins (ppa). While VBA add-ins are
easier to develop, they are not compiled and may run at speeds that are
often less than optimal for some solutions.
To build a robust Office add-in, developers should consider using a
programming tool such as VB, VC++, or the Microsoft Office Developer
edition of VBA (which can build compiled COM Add-ins). This will enable
the component to run independently of VBA. For developers working with
Office XP, this could be a major factor in your design consideration
since XP now offers a VBA-less installation. When VBA is not installed,
compiled add-ins are the only way to extend Office XP clients. For more
details, see Considerations
for Disabling VBA in Office XP (Q287567).
There are several ways for developers to extend the functionality of
the Office environment. Office 2000 and Office XP offer a single,
uniform architecture for non-VBA add-ins, called COM Add-ins, that can
be tailored to a specific application, or be designed to work in
multiple Office applications. Office XP builds on this approach and
offers two new COM-style add-ins:
- Smart Tag recognizers capable of providing "smart tags"
to text that allow the user to enhance in-place editing and
productivity
- Real Time Data servers for Excel 2002 that allow cell updates in
"real time"
XLLs and WLLs are still widely used for backward compatibility with
older clients, while ActiveX controls offer yet another avenue for
developers to extend the Office UI with custom functionality.
COM Add-ins
The following section provides resources for developing COM Add-ins
for Office 2000 and Office XP. Many of the examples are written in
either Visual Basic or Visual C++. If you are new to COM Add-ins and
would like to see pre-built samples or step-by-step instructions for
creating an add-in, the General Resources section is a good place to
start. The remaining sections cover topics that are specific to
manipulating Office Commandbars or working with a certain Office
application.
General Resources
COM
Add-ins Part I: Introducing an Office 2000 Solution for the Entire
(Office) Family (MSDN Technical Article)
Developing
COM Add-ins for Microsoft Office 2000 (MSDN Technical Article)
Creating
a Microsoft Office 2000 COM Add-in (MSDN Technical Article)
Add-ins,
Templates, Wizards, and Libraries (Office Programmer's Guide)
Build
an Office 2000 COM Add-in in Visual Basic (Q238228)
Comaddin.exe
Office 2000 COM Add-in Written in Visual C++ (Q230689)
Configure
an Office COM Add-in for All Users on System (Q290868)
Gantt
Chart Sample Add-in Available for Download (Q254008)
Access
Data Retrieval Sample Add-in Available for Download (Q254006)
Places
COM Add-in for Office 2000 Available for Download (Q260190)
Working with Microsoft Office Commandbars
Manipulating
Command Bars and Command Bar Controls with VBA Code (Office Developer
Documentation)
Create
a Transparent Picture For Office CommandBar Buttons (Q288771)
Set
the Mask and Picture Properties for Office XP CommandBars (Q286460)
Microsoft Excel COM and Automation Add-ins
Excel
COM Add-ins and Automation Add-ins (Q291392)
Use
a COM Add-in Function As An Excel Worksheet Function (Q256624)
Create
a Visual Basic Automation Add-in for Excel 2002 Worksheet Functions
(Q285337)
How
to Work With COM Add-ins in FrontPage 2000 (Q232680)
Install
an Excel Add-in (XLA or XLL) with Automation (Q280290)
How
to Mark an Automation Add-in Function as Volatile (Q278328)
Automation
Add-in Function Binds to Excel Built-in Function with the Same Name
(Q286305)
Excel
2002 Fails When Automation Add-in Loads (Q284876)
Microsoft Word COM Add-ins
CommandBar
Control Reference Becomes Invalid Before COM Add-in's OnDisconnection
Event Fires (Q230876)
Microsoft Outlook COM Add-ins
Questions
About Custom Forms and Outlook Solutions (Q146636)
Customizing
Outlook using COM add-ins (Office Developer Documentation)
COM
Add-ins Part II: Building a COM Add-in for Outlook 2000 (MSDN Technical
Article)
How
to Create a COM Add-in for Outlook (Q230225)
All
COM Add-in Run-Time Errors Must Be Trapped (Q208316)
You
Cannot Fully Quit Outlook When You Use a COM Add-in (Q208332)
COM Add-ins for Other Microsoft Office Applications
Create
a COM Add-in for Microsoft Project (Project 2000 SDK)
COM
Add-ins (Mappoint Programming Information)
How
to Work With COM Add-ins in FrontPage 2000 (Q232680)
Smart Tags
The Smart Tag is a technology introduced with Office XP that provide
Office users with more content interactivity in their Office documents
and can increase their productivity. A Smart Tag is an element of text
in an Office document that is recognized as having custom actions
associated with it. If you are considering creating your own Smart Tags
for Office XP, the Smart
Tag SDK is an essential resource that provides documentation plus
Visual Basic and Visual C++ samples.
If you're interested in a quick step-by-step example of creating your
own Smart Tags for Office, see the following articles. These articles
demonstrate how you can use either Visual Basic or ATL to create a Smart
Tag DLL that uses Microsoft Instant Messenger:
Create
a Smart Tag DLL in Visual Basic For Use in Office XP (Q286267)
Create
a Smart Tag DLL in ATL For Use in Office XP (Q292596)
For additional information and updates for Smart Tag development,
see:
Status
Flag Is Not Updated When You Enable or Disable Smart Tags (Q294422)
Deploying
Smart Tag DLLs by Using the Visual Studio Installer (MSDN Technical
Article)
Smart
Tag Actions Button Doesn't Appear If Using Arrow Keys (Q282561)
Excel RealTimeData (RTD)
Servers
Microsoft Excel is commonly used to monitor data that changes in
real-time, such as stock quotes. Traditionally, Dynamic Data Exchange
(DDE) has been used to accomplish this task, but DDE is an old
technology and can present some difficulties when developing a solution.
To meet the need for monitoring data in real-time for the future, Excel
XP introduces integration with Real-Time Data (RTD) Servers. An RTD
server is a COM object that can be written by anyone interested in
feeding real-time data to Excel.
If you are new to RTD, Create
a RealTimeData Server for Excel 2002 (Q285339) provides an
introduction and walks you step-by-step through the creation of your own
RTD server for Excel. The following list of articles provide additional
information about using and developing RealTimeData servers for Excel:
Use
an Excel RTD Server with DCOM (Q285888)
Security
Settings and Microsoft Excel RealTimeData Servers (Q286259)
RTD
Server Does Not Send Update Notifications to Multiple Excel Instances
(Q284883)
Excel
RTD Function Cannot Return An Array (Q286258)
RTD
Servers Used With Embedded Excel Workbooks May Be Problematic (Q284878)
Excel Add-ins (XLLs)
An XLL is a standard Windows DLL that implements and exports specific
methods. XLLs can provide new functions to Excel, where they will
operate just like those that are built into the product. While XLLs are
still supported in Microsoft Excel 2000 and XP, XLLs are an older
technology. When developing a new Excel Add-in, you should consider the
features presented with COM Add-ins before embarking on XLL development.
The MSDN library contains excerpts from the Microsoft
Excel 97 Developer's Kit that provide documentation for XLL
development.
Build
an Add-in (XLL) for Excel Using Visual C++ (Q178474)
Macro97.exe
File Available on Online Services (Q143466)
FRMWRK32.EXE:
Updated Generic.xll Template for Excel (Q152152)
Existing
XLL Not Recognized by Excel After Recompilation (Q194926)
"Unhandled
Exception in Mso97.dll" When Using XlCoerce with Excel 97 (Q166287)
CALL
Function Always Returns FALSE When Used in a Worksheet (Q238996)
Excel
May Change the Precision Mode of the Floating-Point Control Word
(Q263213)
Word Add-ins (WLLs)
A WLL is a standard Windows DLL that implements and exports specific
methods to extend Word functionality. While WLLs are still supported in
Microsoft Word 2000 and XP, WLLs are an older technology. When
developing a new Word Add-in, you should consider the features offered
by COM Add-ins before embarking on WLL development.
Note Appendix C of The Microsoft
Word Developer's Kit (ISBN 1-55615-880-7) contains the documentation
needed to create WLLs for Microsoft Word. The Microsoft Word
Developer's Kit is no longer in print.
Build
a Microsoft Word Add-in (WLL) Using Visual C++ (Q183758)
Use
Microsoft Word's CAPI Messaging Interface (CMI) (Q190057)
What
Do the cmiCommandDispatch() Errors Mean? (Q183165)
Win32Cmi
Sample Fails or Gives Wait Timeout Error (Q216660)
ActiveX Controls
Since Office 97, all Office documents support hosting ActiveX
Controls in some form. ActiveX is really an extension to OLE, and since
Office supported (or more accurately, invented) OLE first, the control
containment used by Office is largely based on OLE embedding. If you are
designing a control for an Office container, keep in mind that Office
assumes a rich (full) control that supports all the OLE interfaces for
embedding. The better the control is at native OLE embedding, the better
it will function in Office.
There are a number of limitations with controls in Office (as
detailed below), some of which stem from the fact that Office does not
support the more advanced features of the OCX96 specification for
ActiveX controls. Namely, Office does not support:
- Windowless and/or transparent controls
- Certain extended interfaces (e.g., IViewObjectEx, IAdviseSink2,
etc.)
Office also requires the control to render itself in design-mode
using a metafile (WMF) when printing or previewing, instead of higher
quality formats like an enhanced metafile (EMF) or a JPEG/PNG image.
While some of these items have been added to certain Office products in
newer versions, they are not universal. Developers building controls for
Office should try to stay within the OCX94 specification as much as
possible in order to maintain compatibility across all versions and
applications.
For information about building ActiveX controls, and to get a copy of
the OCX specifications, check out Adam Denning's book, ActiveX
Controls Inside Out (MS Press, ISBN: 1-57231-350-1).
When testing your controls in Office, be aware that Office creates
control extenders for VBA when inserting a control for the first time.
Office/VBA will reference the extender and not your control directly.
Consequently, if you are developing a control, and add, remove, or edit
methods, properties, or parameters to a function and re-build the
control's type library, remember to delete the extender file (*.exd)
every time you re-build to keep the extender and type library
synchronized.
General Information
ActiveX
Controls (Web Workshop)
Limitations
of ActiveX Control Support in Office Document (Q168392)
Custom
ActiveX Control Features Supported in Microsoft Access 97 (Q164241)
Supported
ActiveX Controls for Microsoft Access 97 (Q160126)
Changes
to Custom ActiveX Control Are Not Used (Q185473)
.Exd
Files Are Created When You Insert Controls (Q158875)
Some
Properties of ActiveX Controls Not Supported (Q170248)
Error
Message "Cannot insert object" in Excel (Q171280)
Office
Application That Hosts a Custom ActiveX Control Fails on the Save or
Save As Method (Q279408)
MFC ActiveX Controls
The
ABCs of MFC ActiveX Controls (Web Workshop)
Get
IDispatch of an Excel or Word Document from an OCX (Q190985)
MFC
ActiveX Control Fails to Insert into PowerPoint 2000 (Q243240)
Retrieve
the Name of an Office Document That Contains an MFC ActiveX Control
(Q266318)
ATL ActiveX Controls
Add
Excel LinkedCell Support to Your ATL ActiveX Control (Q271736)
ATL
Control Appears Incorrect in Access Report (Q242002)
ATL
Control Properties Do Not Persist when Embedded in Word (Q241936)
Error
"Bound to Unknown Type" Inserting ATL Control in VBA UserForm
(Q214462)
ATL
Control in Office Document Prevents Another Control's Events from
Working (Q241861)
Office Document
Format Information
Microsoft Office documents are OLE structured storage files created
and maintained using the OLE Storage APIs of the underlying operating
system. OLE files support more advanced file writing capabilities
including Unicode, document summary properties, document versioning,
transaction edits, complex multi-application ("compound")
documents, and portability (currently implemented by Macintosh and
Windows).
When working with Office documents in their native format, developers
must use the same OLE Storage APIs (Stg*) as Office to ensure
compatibility. Please note that current versions of Visual Basic and VBA
do not support these APIs, so developers are encouraged to use VC (or a
C/C++ add-in for VB) to view or edit native Office documents.
Office Binary File
Formats
Support
for the Microsoft Office Binary File Formats (Q239653).
Microsoft
Excel 97 Developer's Kit
How
To Create a BIFF5 File (Q150447)
Records
Needed to Make a BIFF5 File Microsoft Excel Can Use (Q147732)
Determine
the Version of a Microsoft Excel Workbook (Q178605)
Determine
Which Version of Excel Wrote a Workbook (Q225029)
Distinguish
Between Excel 97 and Excel 2000/2002 Files (Q269168)
Determine
If an Excel Workbook Contains Macros (Q224518)
Excel
BIFF8 CONTINUE Record Information Is Incomplete (Q207475)
Excel
BIFF8 Extended Rich String Formatting Run Is 4 Bytes (Q284436)
Excel
BIFF8 FORMAT Record Documentation is Incomplete (Q284441)
STRING
Record Description Omits grbit Field (Q197489)
Office Document
Properties
Document Summary Properties are a part of the OLE Structured Storage
specification and are used by all Office applications to save additional
document information—like the Author, Title, and Template Name—that
helps identify it in a document management system or from an Index
Server query. Since these properties are part of OLE and not specific to
Office, developers can read and edit them without having to open the
documents in Office (or have Office installed).
For more information about accessing OLE Summary Properties and its
format, please see the documentation for Structured Storage in the MSDN
Library:
Property
Set Implementations in COM
The following articles provide information about reading and editing
Office document properties. A utility to make the job easier (dsofile.exe)
is also included:
Dsofile.exe
Lets You Edit Office Document Properties from Visual Basic and Active
Server Pages (Q224351)
Read
Compound Document Properties Directly with VC++ (Q186898)
Use
Visual C++ to Access DocumentProperties with Automation (Q238393)
Office OLE Objects
and ActiveX Documents
An ActiveX Document is an extended type of OLE object that
allows an entire document to be embedded in a host rather than a single
sheet, chart, or section. The ActiveX Document technology allows Office
documents to appear directly in containers like Internet Explorer.
OLE is still the primary means for Office applications to share
resources on a rich client. However, the Office Web Components (OWC)
could be used to replace some of the functionality served by Office OLE
objects. But, for rich clients wanting full in-place editing and menu
merging capabilities, OLE is still the most powerful and feature-rich
technology available.
Office OLE Objects
TN039:
MFC/OLE Automation Implementation (MFC Technical Note)
Embed
and Automate Office Documents with Visual Basic (Q242243)
Embed
and Automate a Microsoft Excel Worksheet with MFC (Q184663)
Embed
and Automate a Word Document with MFC (Q238611)
Embedded
Word Document Scrolls to Top While Editing In-Place (Q268278)
ScrollBars
Disappear on Mouse Move in OLE Container (Q190520)
VB
Hangs While Automating Excel Using OLE Control (Q181889)
ActiveX Documents
Automate
Linked and Embedded ActiveX Documents (Q193039)
Use
the WebBrowser Control to Open an Office Document (Q243058)
MFCBIND:
Active Document Container (Sample)
Framer:
Active Document Objects Hosting as a Container (Sample)
FramerEx.exe
Is an MDI ActiveX Document Container Sample Written in Visual C++
(Q268470)
MFC
ActiveX Document Container Hangs During Shutdown on Windows 2000
(Q272256)
This document contains resources compiled and reviewed by the
Microsoft Developer Support Team that specializes in developing Office
solutions with Visual Studio. Special thanks for their contributions to
this document go to Joel Alley, Gerard Collop, Rob Dil, Mark Durrett,
Greg Ellison, Chris Jensen, Ranjit Sawant, Richard Taylor, and Lori
Turner.
©
2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved
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