ADT: How to Use DDE to Communicate with a Run-Time Application

• Microsoft Access Distribution Kit version 1.1
• Microsoft Access Developer's Toolkit version 2.0

SUMMARY

Advanced: Requires expert coding, interoperability, and multiuser skills.

Run-time applications developed with Microsoft Access have the same dynamic data exchange (DDE) server capabilities as applications in the retail version of Microsoft Access.

However, in order to communicate with a run-time application using DDE, you must use the name of the .MDB file, instead of "MSACCESS" when initiating a DDE conversation.

MORE INFORMATION

The following example demonstrates how to communicate with a run-time application developed with Microsoft Access:

1. Start Microsoft Access and open the sample database NWIND.MDB.

2. Choose the Macro button and select the Sample Autoexec macro.

3. From the File menu, choose Rename. In the Macro Name box, type "Autoexec" (without the quotation marks), and then press ENTER.

4. Quit Microsoft Access.

5. From the File menu in Program Manager, choose Run.

6. Type "c:\access\msarn110.exe nwind.mdb" (without the quotation marks), and then press ENTER.

7. Start Microsoft Access, and create or open a database other than NWIND.MDB.

8. Create or open a module and add the following Access Basic function:

         Option Explicit
   

            Function DDEWithNWIND ()
                Dim chan
                chan = DDEInitiate("NWIND", "NWIND;TABLE Employees")
                MsgBox DDERequest(chan, "FirstRow")
                DDETerminate chan
            End Function
   
      Note that the first argument specified in the DDEInitiate command, the
      application name, is "NWIND", which is the name of the .MDB file, and
      not "MSACCESS."
   
   

9. From the View menu, choose Immediate Window. Type the following line, and then press ENTER:

         ? DDEWithNWIND()
   

   Note that a message box displays the first record from the Employees table in the NWIND.MDB database.