ComHelper
COM and ACTIVEX
Programming made easier in HotBasic
Part II – Using
ComHelper
Part II – Using ComHelper
Part III – Using a helper file
with the Use Invoke option
Part IV – Using a helper file
without the Use Invoke option
Part V – Using an ActiveX helper
file
Run ComHelper.
It will search Windows' documentation and display a
list of the library files on your computer that have objects and interfaces
registered.
Imagine you read somewhere that the interface IPicture
could help you load a .JPG picture. If you know in which library file this
interface is described, then go to it.
If you don't, click the Search button, enter IPicture
and ComHelper will sift through the files looking for it. If you're lucky, then
there will be a matching file.
When you've located the file you need, double-click on
it or press Enter.
Another window opens with details about what is inside
that library file: which objects and interfaces it handles, and also what
specific data types and constants are related to it.
In order to use COM and ActiveX objects in your program, you need 2 ingredients:
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Once you've opened a library file, just select the
elements you want included in the helper file by ticking the corresponding checkboxes
in the 4 grids:
- Interfaces:
those are the interfaces to the objects you want to use,
- Types:
specific type definitions that are used by those objects,
- Constants:
specific sets of constants,
- Event
interfaces: sets of events that can be used when objects generate some events. (More
on this in chapter VI).
Then click "Generate .inc". Choose a
location for your file. ComHelper generates a helper file according to your
selection and you're ready to use it.
For info on how to use the helper file, please refer
to the following sections:
. Using a helper file with the
Use Invoke option
. Using a helper file without
the Use Invoke option
. Using an ActiveX helper file