The information in this article applies to:
- Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Editions of Microsoft
Visual Basic, 16-bit and 32-bit, for Windows, version 4.0
- Standard and Professional Editions of Microsoft Visual Basic
Programming System, version 4.0, for Windows
- Microsoft Excel, versions 5.0 and 7.0
- Microsoft Project, versions 4.0 and 4.1
- Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0 and 7.0
SUMMARY
This article documents the behavior of top-level Microsoft OLE Automation
objects in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Project when
manipulated by the Visual Basic CreateObject() and GetObject() functions.
Because only the products and versions listed at the beginning of this
article support OLE 2.0 Automation, the version-dependent top-level OLE
Automation objects, such as Excel.Application.5, function the same way as
the version-independent top-level OLE automation objects such as
Excel.Application. Therefore, only the version-independent top-level OLE
Automation objects are discussed in this article.
In addition, this article does not discuss the possibility of other
applications referencing the same objects or the possibility of running
out of resources or memory.
MORE INFORMATION
Each Microsoft application that currently supports OLE Automation behaves
differently with respect to how its top-level OLE Automation objects
function. The following sections list the behaviors of each application and
each possible syntax used with each top-level OLE Automation objects within
that application.
Microsoft Excel Versions 5.0 & 7.0
- Excel exposes three top-level OLE Automation objects (Application,
Sheet, and Chart).
- Excel supports multiple instances.
- New instances of Excel created through top-level OLE Automation objects
are invisible. They can be made visible by setting the visible property
of the application object to True (...Application.Visible = True).
- In some cases, Excel creates invisible Workbooks. They can be made
visible by setting the visible property of the window to true
(...Window(n).Visible = True).
- In some cases, Excel does not create a workbook. To create one, use the
add method of the Workbooks collection (...Workbooks.Add).
- To remove an instance of Excel from memory, you must use the quit method
of the application object (...Application.Quit).
Syntax Statements for Microsoft Excel Versions 5.0 & 7.0 Application Object
Set Obj = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
- Creates a new invisible instance of Excel.
- No workbooks are loaded.
Set Obj = GetObject("", "Excel.Application")
- Creates a new invisible instance of Excel.
- No workbooks are loaded.
Set Obj = GetObject(, "Excel.Application")
- Tries to get an existing instance of Excel at random. If an instance
is found, Obj points to it.
- Fails if there is not an existing instance.
Syntax Statements for Microsoft Excel Versions 5.0 & 7.0 Sheet Object
Set Obj = CreateObject("Excel.Sheet")
- If there are no instances of Excel, a new invisible instance of Excel
is created with a workbook named "Object" containing one worksheet
named "Sheet1."
- If one instance of Excel exists, a new visible workbook is added
named "Object" containing one worksheet named "Sheet1."
- If multiple instances of Excel exist, a new workbook is added to one
instance chosen at random. The workbook name is "Object" and it
contains one worksheet named "Sheet1."
- If Obj goes out of scope, the workbook is removed. However, the
instance of Excel remains in memory.
Set Obj = GetObject("", "Excel.Sheet")
- If there are no instances of Excel, a new invisible instance of Excel
is created with a workbook named "Object" containing one worksheet
named "Sheet1."
- If one instance of Excel exists, a new workbook is added named
"Object" containing one worksheet named "Sheet1."
- If multiple instances of Excel exist, a new workbook is added to one
instance chosen at random. The workbook name is "Object," and it
contains one worksheet named "Sheet1."
- If Obj goes out of scope, the workbook is removed. However, the
instance of Excel remains in memory.
Set Obj = GetObject(, "Excel.Sheet")
Set Obj = GetObject("C:\BOOK.XLS", "Excel.Sheet")
- If no instances of Excel exists, a new invisible instance is created
with an invisible workbook.
- If one instance of Excel exists, a new invisible workbook is loaded.
If the loaded instance already has the specified workbook loaded,
that workbook is used.
- If more than one instance of Excel is loaded, a new invisible
workbook is loaded into one at random. If one of the instances
already has the specified workbook open, an error occurs unless
the random instance chosen is the one using the specified workbook.
- Obj points to the first worksheet in the specified workbook.
- Fails if workbook does not exist.
- When Obj goes out of scope, the instance of Excel stays loaded in
memory. However, the specified workbook will be unloaded unless the
invisible workbook was made visible.
Syntax Statements for Microsoft Excel Versions 5.0 & 7.0 Chart Object
Set Obj = CreateObject("Excel.Chart")
- If there are no instances of Excel, a new invisible instance of Excel
is created with a workbook named "Object" containing one chart named
"Chart1" and one worksheet named "Sheet1."
- If one instance of Excel exists, a new workbook is added named
"Object" containing one chart named "Chart1" and one worksheet named
"Sheet1" by default.
- If multiple instances of Excel exist, a new Workbook is added to one
instance chosen at random. The workbook's default name is "Object,"
and it contains one chart named "Chart1" and one worksheet named
"Sheet1."
- If Obj goes out of scope, the workbook is removed. However, the
instance of Excel remains in memory.
Set Obj = GetObject("", "Excel.Chart")
Set Obj = GetObject(, "Excel.Chart")
Set Obj = GetObject("C:\BOOK.XLS", "Excel.Chart")
- If no instances of Excel exist, a new invisible instance is created
with an invisible workbook.
- If one instance of Excel exists, an invisible workbook is loaded. If
the loaded instance already has the specified workbook loaded, that
workbook is used.
- If more than one instance of Excel is loaded, an invisible workbook
is loaded into one at random. If one of the instances already running
has the specified workbook open an error occurs unless the random
instance chosen is the one using the specified workbook.
- Obj points to the first chart in the workbook.
- Fails if workbook does not exist.
- When Obj goes out of scope, the instance of Excel stays loaded in
memory. However, the specified workbook will be unloaded unless the
invisible workbook was made visible.
Microsoft Word Version 6.0
- Word exposes one top level OLE Automation object (Basic).
- Word supports multiple instances.
- Instances of Word created with its top level OLE Automation object are
visible.
- When the OLE Automation object goes out of scope, the instance of Word
is unloaded unless the object was created from a previous instance.
Syntax Statements for Microsoft Word Version 6.0 Basic Object
Set Obj = CreateObject("Word.Basic")
- If no instances of Word exist, a new visible instance is loaded that
does not contain a document. If Obj goes out of scope, Word is
unloaded from memory.
- If an instance of Word exists, Obj points to it. If Obj goes out of
scope, the instance of Word remains in memory.
- If more than one instance of Word exists, Obj points to one chosen
at random. If Obj goes out of scope, all the instances remain in
memory.
Set Obj = GetObject("", "Word.Basic")
- If no instances of Word exist, a new visible instance is loaded that
does not contain a document. If Obj goes out of scope, Word is
unloaded from memory.
- If an instance of Word exists, Obj points to it. If Obj goes out of
scope, the instance of Word remains in memory.
- If more than one instance of Word exists, Obj points to one chosen
at random. If Obj goes out of scope, all the instances remain in
memory.
Set Obj = GetObject(, "Word.Basic")
Microsoft Word Version 7.0
- Word exposes one top level OLE Automation object (Basic).
- Word supports multiple instances.
- Instances of Word created with its top level OLE Automation object are
invisible, but can be made visible by issuing the Wordbasic Appshow
command.
- When the OLE Automation object goes out of scope, the instance of Word
is unloaded unless the object was created from a previous instance.
Syntax Statements for Microsoft Word Version 7.0 Basic Object
Set Obj = CreateObject("Word.Basic")
- If no instances of Word exist, a new invisible instance is loaded
that does not contain a document. If Obj goes out of scope, Word is
unloaded from memory.
- If an instance of Word exists, Obj points to it. If Obj goes out of
scope, the instance of Word remains in memory.
- If more than one instance of Word exists, Obj points to one chosen
at random. If Obj goes out of scope, all the instances remain in
memory.
Set Obj = GetObject("", "Word.Basic")
- If no instances of Word exist, a new invisible instance is loaded
that does not contain a document. If Obj goes out of scope, Word is
unloaded from memory.
- If an instance of Word exists, Obj points to it. If Obj goes out of
scope, the instance of Word remains in memory.
- If more than one instance of Word exists, Obj points to one chosen
at random. If Obj goes out of scope, all the instances remain in
memory.
Set Obj = GetObject(, "Word.Basic")
Microsoft Project Versions 4.0 & 4.1
- Project exposes two top-level OLE Automation objects (Application and
Project).
- Project does not support multiple instances.
- New instances of Project created through top-level OLE Automation
objects are invisible. They can be made visible by setting the visible
property of the application object to true
(...Application.Visible = True).
- In some cases, Project creates an invisible project.
- If an instance of Project is not unloaded, use the quit method of the
application object to unload it (...Application.Quit).
Syntax Statements for Microsoft Project Versions 4.0 & 4.1 Application
Object
Set Obj = CreateObject("MSProject.Application")
- If no instance of Project exists, a new invisible instance is loaded.
If Obj goes out of scope, the instance of Project is unloaded.
- If an instance of Project exists, Obj points to it. If Obj goes out
of scope, the instance of Project is not unloaded.
- No projects are loaded.
Set Obj = GetObject("", "MSProject.Application")
- If no instance of Project exists, a new invisible instance is loaded.
If Obj goes out of scope, the instance of Project is unloaded.
- If an instance of Project exists, Obj points to it. If Obj goes out
of scope, the instance of Project is not unloaded.
- No projects are loaded.
Set Obj = GetObject(, "MSProject.Application")
- If an instance of Project exists, Obj points to it. No projects are
loaded.
- Fails if there is no existing instance.
Syntax Statements for Microsoft Project Versions 4.0 & 4.1 Project Object
Set Obj = CreateObject("MSProject.Project")
- If no instance of Project exists, a new invisible instance is
created, and Obj points to a newly created invisible project object.
The project is named "Project1" by default. If Obj goes out of scope,
the instance of Project is unloaded from memory.
- If an instance of Project exists, Obj points to a newly created
invisible project object. Existing projects will still be loaded. If
Obj goes out of scope, Project will not be unloaded.
Set Obj = GetObject("", "MSProject.Project")
- If no instance of Project exists, a new invisible instance is
created, and Obj points to a newly created invisible project object.
The project is named "Project1" by default. If Obj goes out of scope,
the instance of Project is unloaded from memory.
- If an instance of Project exists, Obj points to a newly created
invisible project object. Existing projects will still be loaded. If
Obj goes out of scope, Project will not be unloaded.
Set Obj = GetObject(, "MSProject.Project")
Set Obj = GetObject("C:\PROJ.MPP", "MSProject.Project")
- If no instance of Project exists, a new invisible instance is loaded
with the specified project file. The project is not visible.
- If an instance of Project exists, the project is loaded but it is not
visible, and Obj points to it. Existing projects will be loaded.
If the specific project was already loaded, the statement will fail.
- Fails if project file does not exist.
NOTE: When an object variable goes out of scope, it is de-referenced. The
object reference count is de-cremented, and if it reaches zero, the object
can be removed from memory. You can explicitly de-reference an object by
setting it to nothing (Set Obj = Nothing). This should have the same effect
as the object variable going out of scope.
|