WD97: Run-Time Error 5584 "Too Many DDE Channels Are Open..."

• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

If Microsoft Word or another program cannot open any additional Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) channels, the following message may be displayed:

   Run-Time error '5584':
   Too Many DDE Channels are open. Please close a window.

CAUSE

When using DDE to communicate between programs, a separate "channel" or line of communication for each DDE conversation is created. It is possible to have multiple DDE conversations happening at the same time. While there is no absolute limit to the number of DDE conversations that can exist simultaneously, there is a relative limit that depends on the amount of system resources available. This limit varies from system to system.

WORKAROUND

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/default.asp

   Syntax to Terminate a Specific Channel Number
   ---------------------------------------------

   DDETerminate(ChannelNumber)

   -or-

   Syntax to Terminate All DDE Channels
   ------------------------------------

   DDETerminateAll

   Sub DDETest
      For x = 1 to 40
         chan = DDEInitiate("Excel", "Sheet1")
         ' Your other commands go here.
         DDETerminate chan
      Next x
   End Sub

   Sub DDEReproduceError
      For x = 1 to 40
         n = DDEInitiate("Excel","Sheet1")
      Next x
   End Sub

REFERENCES

For more information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q163435
   TITLE     : VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for
               Applications