Passing Variant Parameters in OLE Automation

• Microsoft OLE Libraries for Windows and Win32s, version 2.0
• Microsoft OLE Libraries, included with:

      - Microsoft Windows NT, versions 3.5 and 3.51
      - Microsoft Windows 95
  

A variant must be initialized using VariantInit after creation and before it is passed to a function. A variant with a valid value must be cleared using VariantClear before a new value is assigned to it.

A variant must be passed to or from a function in a valid state and the contents of the variant must be correctly freed. This requires that the following be done:

1. On creation of a variant, call VariantInit before passing it to a function.

2. A function that is passed a variant should clear it using VariantClear to free the previous contents before assigning it a new value.

Passing an uninitialized variant to a function is a common error. This may cause problems when the VariantClear call in the function tries to free the contents of the uninitialized variant based on the undefined value of the vt field.