Dynamic data exchange (DDE) is a protocol for Microsoft Windows that enables two applications to "talk" to each other—to exchange data continually and, if you want, automatically.
You may have already discovered some of the DDE capabilities that Microsoft Access makes available through the Copy and Paste Special commands and the DDE-related functions, DDE and DDESend. However, these techniques all require an open form or report to act as the source or destination for the data. Using Access Basic, you can exchange data with other applications without using an open form or report. This gives you much greater control over the data that gets exchanged. Moreover, you can use DDE statements to perform DDE operations, such as sending macro commands to other applications, that aren't available from a form or report.