rexx-things/modules/windows/oodialog/oleinfo/help.txt
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*** OLEINFO Help File ***
Contents:
1. What is OLEINFO?
2. Using OLEINFO
2.1 ProgID
2.2 Look up
2.3 Selecting a method
2.4 Invoking a method
3. Disclaimer
1. What is OLEINFO?
This REXX script helps you to gather information about the methods of an OLE
object. This is done through the use of the GetKnownMethods method of the
REXX OLE object. A comprehensive introduction to OLE can be found in the
Open Object REXX online documentation.
GetKnownMethods retrieves information from the so-called "Type Library" of the
OLE object, which should be - but is not always - installed together with the
OLE object.
To execute this sample the ooDialog extension of Open Object REXX is needed.
ooDialog is part of Open Object REXX for Windows
2. Using OLEINFO
First you have to specify the ProgID of the OLE object you want to
instantiate. If necessary, consult the documentation to find out what the
ProgID is. To specify the ProgID, either enter it into the ProgID text field
and press Enter, or look it up from the registry by using the Look Up button.
Instructions follow on how to do this. After the object has been created
successfully, a list with all its methods, properties, and events is displayed
in the main list window. The icons that are shown to the left of the item
names signify the following:
Green down arrow: This is a method.
Yellow right arrow: This is a 'property get.'
Red left arrow: This is a 'property put.'
Blue waves: This is an event.
For more information see your documentation of the OLE object.
2.1 ProgID
If you already know the ProgID of the object you want to instantiate, simply
type it into the ProgID text field, and press Enter.
Example: Enter "InternetExplorer.Application" and press Enter to start
Microsoft Internet Explorer, if it is installed on your system.
2.2 Look Up
To search the registry for OLE objects, click the Look Up button. All entries
in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID with a VersionIndependentProgID (or ProgID) will be
put into the objects list. To instantiate an object, select it and click OK.
You can use the Search button to look for a specific entry; it searches the
list for entries beginning with the string you specify. The search is not
case-sensitive.
Note: Not all entries in this list are useful. You can only instantiate OLE
objects that support the automation interface.
2.3 Selecting a method
All the methods that are returned will be displayed in alphabetical order in
the "List of methods". Click a selected item to get detailed information.
This information is shown in the "Details" section, as follows:
* Method signature
This displays the name of the method and the argument that it takes. What is
displayed depends on the options chosen in the check boxes in the "Show" line.
In the default setting, only the method name and the names of the parameters
are displayed.
The check boxes have the following functionality:
- Types
Shows the OLE types of the method, its return type and argument types.
Conversion to and from these types is normally done automatically by the
REXX OLEObject. The types may give you an indication of what kind of object
to expect.
Examples:
VT_BOOL <=> .TRUE or .FALSE in REXX
VT_BSTR <=> A REXX string.
VT_Ix <=> A whole number (x=1, x=2, x=4, or x=8).
VT_Rx <=> A real number (x=1, x=2, x=4, or x=8).
VT_VARIANT <=> This can be any REXX object representable as a VARIANT.
VT_DISPATCH <=> Another OLE object.
- Flags
Shows the flags for the method arguments. These can be:
in: This argument is the input to the method.
out: This argument creates output. See the documentation on 'out'
parameters.
opt: This argument is optional.
Any combination of these flags can be used.
- Member ID
Displays the so-called MemID of a method. It is used internally only.
* Documentation
If a textual description of what the method does is available, it will be
displayed in this line. (Use the cursor to scroll to parts of the text that
do not fit into the visible area.)
2.4 Invoking a method
To invoke a method of the OLE object, double-click the desired method in the
list of methods. An invocation window will appear, and here you can enter data.
If there are 'out' parameters you will not be able to change these fields.
Note that if you try to invoke a method by using wrong data, the entire
program may stop and give you an error message. The results of an invocation
will be displayed in another window. This will include one line showing the
result object, and also a list giving the output of possible 'out' parameters.
If an OLE object is returned, you can use this as the new object that the
viewer displays for you.