PRB: DDEInitiate() Gives Remote Data Not Accessible Dialog Box

ID: Q105005

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 3.0
• Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5 and 2.5a

SYMPTOMS

In FoxPro for Windows the DDEInitiate() function may result in getting an undesirable "? Remote data not accessible. Start application '<appname>.EXE'?" dialog box.

Code following the DDEInitiate() function may check for the return of -1, which indicates that the channel was not established; however, the code is not yet executed.

CAUSE

The default setting for the Safety clause of the DDESetOption() function is true (.T.). This setting specifies whether a dialog box is displayed when the DDEInitiate() function is used to establish a channel to a server application and the application is not currently open.

RESOLUTION

Issue the DDESetOption() function prior to the DDEInitiate() function to change the setting for Safety to false (.F.).

For example, the following code establishes a DDE channel between Microsoft FoxPro for Windows and Microsoft Excel, even if Microsoft Excel is not presently minimized in the Windows background, without receiving the dialog box message mentioned above:

   =DDESetOption("SAFETY",.F.)
   DO WHILE .T.
      =DDESetOption("TimeOut",10000)
      iChannel=DDEInitiate("Excel","System")
      =DDESetOption("TimeOut",2000)
      IF iChannel !=-1   && If Excel is started, exit loop
         EXIT
      ELSE             && Start Excel & try to get channel
         RUN /N3 d:\msoffice\excel\excel.exe   && Change this line
                                      && according to your path to Excel.
      ENDIF
   ENDDO

REFERENCES

"Language Reference," version 2.5, pages L3-366, L3-374

(c) Microsoft Corporation 1997, All Rights Reserved. Contributions by Perry Newton, Microsoft Corporation

Keywords          : kbVFp FoxWin FxinteropDde 
Version           : 2.5 2.5a
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb